Phoenix Flame Part 3
by child of the new dawn
Summary: Complete! The final battle between Harry and Voldemort is about to begin. Harry and Remus must fix the seal or the greatest evils will be unleashed. But can they do that AND save Hogwarts? Maybe with some help...
1. Default Chapter

Phoenix Flame  
  
Child of the new Dawn  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and will not make any money  
  
A/N this is the Sequel to Rebirth of the Phoenix and the last part of the Phoenix series. Thanks to all my reviewers who stuck with my fics and I hope you like that last part which will be very long. Enjoy!  
  
Summery: A tree of darkness grows somewhere in the world, letting all the evils of the world exist. The dark Lord Voldemort wishes to break the seal on the Breaden Tree and release untold horrors onto the world. Harry, after spending the summer with werewolves and vampires, must stop him from breaking the seal to save the world and destroy him for good.  
  
Tiernan's castle  
  
Two creatures made their way down a long warm corridor careful not to make a sound. They stopped as they reached a wooden door, and carefully pulled it open. The two shared a delighted glance, yellow eyes glinting in the dying torch light, as the door opened silently, bidding them entrance.  
  
They entered a large room, walking on the soft, slightly worn, rugs that covered most of the stone floor. A full length mirror was tucked into one corner. Deep red drapes covered a large window, above a stone seat where many books were scattered haphazardly. The bed had a matching coverlet and was made out of a dark wood with a large trunk at the end. Their target was fast asleep on the bed, blankets tangled and thrown about him.  
  
They snuck up quietly, never noticing the emerald eyes had snapped open when they had first opened the door, and approached the bed. They both prepared to jump, when-.  
  
"Gotcha!" Harry yelled as he caught the young werewolf cubs: Kassidy and Keane. Both shrieked and laughed as Harry grabbed them and began to tickle the seven-year-olds mercilessly.  
  
Finally relenting, Harry released then and flopped back onto his bed mock glaring at them, "So, care to tell me why you two were sneaking into my room at," He glanced at his clock, "seven thirty in the morning?"  
  
Kassidy grinned and began to jump up and down on the bed, "Uncle told us to get your lazy behind outta bed!"  
  
'Tiernan has such a way with words,' Harry thought dryly, before saying, "Well run down and tell that old wolf, he should know better than to wake a teenager early on a weekend, but I guess he must have forgotten what its like to be one."  
  
Kassidy giggled hysterically and hopped off the bed running down the hall, her dark brown hair escaping from her pigtails.  
  
Harry looked back over to Keane, who was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed with his head down and hadn't said a word yet, which was strange for him. "Keane, is something wrong? You'd usually be racing your sister down to breakfast by now."  
  
"Uncle and Lady Kali were talking about a hunter. When they saw me they yelled a told me to go play." He looked up at Harry with an unfamiliar worried look on his face, "I'm scared of hunters."  
  
Harry reached forward and gently ruffled his hair, before saying kindly, "Your uncle would never let anything come into the castle that would hurt you, I promise, you'll be safe. Now go on and save me some breakfast!"  
  
Keane grinned, "Only if you get there before I eat it all!" and took off down the hall following his twin sister.  
  
Harry stood and stretched. He riffled through his trunk and threw on the new muggle clothes Remus had gotten him, that actually fit, and wrapped a cloak over his shoulders.  
  
He glanced up at the calendar he had pinned on the wall and grinned, tonight was the full moon. Tiernan had pestered him the whole two weeks he had been at his castle about what he would do during full moons. Harry had just answered with a vague 'don't worry about it' or 'I'll be fine'. He loved surprising the werewolves and vampires with his new powers.  
  
For the two weeks he had been at Tiernan's castle, he had met with Lady Kali six times. It hadn't taken long, under her tutelage, for Harry to pull his magic away from his broken ring and quit depending on it to control the flow of his magic. He was now at the level he had been when he was at Hogwarts, but Kali had frowned and told him he was far from his potential and needed further training.  
  
The first week had been rather awkward, neither the inhabitants of Tiernan's castle nor Harry himself knew how to act around each other.  
  
Harry laughed to himself softly when he recalled how he had finally broken the ice.  
  
Harry had walked in on Vanora drinking from a goblet with a deep red liquid inside it, Harry knew was blood. She had looked up at him and grinned offering the cup, "Want some?"  
  
All eyes had immediately turned to Harry to see his reaction and were stunned to find him smiling as he said, "No thanks, trying to cut down. You over grown-mosquitoes can have it."  
  
He now often called Vanora and Melantha 'over-grown mosquitoes' fondly.  
  
Not long after that, did Harry get a letter from Moony. He bombarded Harry with questions of his well being and then, as if to make up for it, sent Sirius motorcycle, under a spell that left it as large as a muggle toy.  
  
He had taken Kassidy and Keane on a few rides, to their delight, and to their mother's distress. The twins were some of the only children in Tiernan's castle. Tiernan and his brother, Marrok, had become werewolves at the same time, being out at night searching (ironically) for the family's pet Crup (basically a Jack Russell Terrier with a forked tail) when the werewolf Zev had bitten them. Zev also bit Marrok's wife Larentia when she was pregnant with the twins.  
  
Ashon had later told Harry that Zev had been part of his pack, Remus' pack, and that was another reason Tiernan took to Remus so quickly. Harry saw Ashon off and on, he seemed to come and go from the castle on his own, while the others tended to stay permanently or for long periods of time.  
  
Harry walked down the, now familiar, halls leading toward the dinning chamber. There were long wooden tables, as with Hogwarts, but there were more of them and they were placed in more-or-less random orders.  
  
There was a sense of tension in the air, even as Harry responded to the friendly greetings called out from a few werewolves he knew well. There were two breakfasts served in Tiernan's castle; an early one, for those who had regular time schedules, and a later one, more of a brunch, for those, like Harry, spent most of the night conferring with the vampires. Harry was secretly glad he would go home for a week or two before Hogwarts so he could get back into a regular sleeping schedule.  
  
Harry sat between Keane and Nadia, and grabbed an apple from the untouched fruit bowl, trying not to snicker as all the werewolves had the same meats on each of their plates, but no fruit. He looked up as he caught sight of a white blur out of the corner of his eye. Hedwig landed beside him with three letters and a newspaper tied to her leg. After he untied his mail, she gently nipped his finger turned and stole a piece of bacon from Nadia's plate before taking off.  
  
He felt a tug at his sleeve and turned to a pale faced Keane, who pointed to the door where Tiernan stood talking to a tall man with long dark brown hair and dressed in a black traveling cloak. On his belt hung a long dagger that curved, with deadly elegance, to a lethal point. The man turned suddenly and looked at him and Harry stared into his eyes, as dark and fathomless as any vampire he had seen. Most of the man's face was hidden by a black cloth wrapped around his neck and shoulders, but Harry could see part of a scar on his cheek, sweeping downwards in an arc to the cloth. As soon as the gaze fell on him it was gone and the man walked away, Tiernan following a few feet behind watching him.  
  
Marrok walked over to them, "That is the hunter Jaegar." He told the twins, "He has not chosen a side yet, so stay away from him and give him no reason to harm you." He looked up at Harry, "That goes for you as well, Harry Potter, Jaegar is a hunter of all magical beings, wizards too....."  
  
Harry nodded and took his letters up to his room. With a vague swish of his wand, Harry made his bed and plopped on it. A letter from Ron and Hermione, from Remus, and from Dumbledore, he opened Ron and Hermione's first.  
  
'Dear Harry,  
  
How are things at Tiernan's castle? We found a new place for our 'club'. Thankfully it isn't half as bad as Padfoot's place had been, but we've still been forced to do manual labor. Hermione's bugging me about it isn't that bad, but she didn't half to clean out the attic with all the spiders just so the order members can apperate without all this junk falling on top of them. Why do they have to apperate up there anyway?!'  
  
The writing suddenly became much neater as Hermione took over;  
  
'Don't mind Ron, Harry. With how lazy he is any work is manual labor. Mrs. Weasley is very worried about you living with werewolves and vampires! I bet you're learning loads about their culture! You'll have to tell me all about it!'  
  
Harry inwardly groaned.  
  
'Have you heard from Remus? He's been in and out quite a bit, but he did say he was getting the information he needed. Do be careful with that motor bike!  
  
Love from,  
  
Hermione  
  
Oh and Ron too.'  
  
Harry chuckled and set the letter aside picking up Remus'  
  
'Dear Harry,  
  
How are you holding up? You're not having any problems are you? Not getting into any trouble? I know you're muttering mollycoddling under you breath now, but as your guardian I reserve the right to worry and mollycoddle all I like.  
  
I've gotten quite a bit on the Braeden Tree, and it looks like we're in a bit of trouble. I'll tell you what I know when I return to the country, obviously not until a few days after the full moon.  
  
I know you're tired of hearing this but please be careful.  
  
love, Moony'  
  
'I don't think I'll tell Moony about the hunter just yet.' Harry mused as he picked up Dumbledore's letter.  
  
'Harry,  
  
I pleased to hear you are doing well in your training. I have been told the hunter Jaegar has recently come to Tiernan's castle. I ask you to please be weary around him, his kind have no scruples about hunting wizards, werewolves, or vampires.  
  
On a lighter note, I hope Kenani enjoys his time with an entire pack of wolves to run with. No doubt Remus has already said this but to make sure it doesn't go in one ear and out the other, which I find to be the case with many people your age, please be careful.  
  
As your birthday is coming up at the end of the month, would you like to have a meeting with Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley? There is a new headquarters for the order now, and you are always welcome, should you need a place to stay.  
  
Until September first,  
  
Albus Dumbledore'  
  
As Harry set the letter down a bag of Lemon Drops appeared next to the letter. Harry burst out laughing and popped one into his mouth.  
  
After putting his mail away, to be answered later, Harry got his Firebolt out of his trunk and went out for a quick ride.  
  
Tiernan's castle was very large, with many towers and open landings. Harry dove down, barely two or three inches from the thick grey stone of the tower. He pulled up sharply and spun around the spires of the smallest towers, than went back up where he stopped and hovered, overlooking the rugged land surrounding the castle.  
  
Harry squinted and tried to concentrate on seeing the wards around the castle. Part of his training with Kali had been to see magic spells and wards. He saw a glimmer of light ahead of him, then.... nothing. Sighing in annoyance, Harry glanced down and saw the twins. They were backing away from the dark-haired man, Jaegar.  
  
With a flash of panic, Harry dove sharply, pushing the firebolt to its limit. He pulled up and jumped off a few feet from the ground, landing in between the twins and the hunter.  
  
The hunter stopped and looked Harry up and down closely before saying in a deep slightly annoyed voice, "What are you doing young wizard? You aren't a werewolf, why are you protecting these creatures?"  
  
The twins whimpered in fear and hid behind Harry's legs, Harry clenched his fists, "These 'creatures' are only seven years old! Is there anything you won't-"  
  
"Jeagar!"  
  
Harry jumped slightly as he recognized Tiernan's voice.  
  
Tiernan grabbed the hunter's left arm, the one closest to the knife, and spoke angrily but quietly into his ear. Now that Tiernan had pulled his arm back, Harry could now fully see the long unsheathed dagger. There was a long line of notches on one end and Harry had a sudden feeling of foreboding of what those notches probably meant.  
  
Suddenly Tiernan released the hunter's arm and, after giving Harry a hard look up and down again, Jeagar turned and left.  
  
Tiernan, up-close, looked tired and very tense, but that didn't lessen the effect of his hard glare at the twins, who scampered and bolted to their parents.  
  
Tiernan sighed and turned to Harry, "Thank you Harry."  
  
Harry nodded looking at him concerned, "Are you alright?"  
  
Tiernan sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, "I'll be better when that hunter finally takes his leave. I shudder at the thought of having him here tonight." He looked up at Harry with a ghost of a grin, "So, going to reveal how you're going to make it through the night without becoming dog chow?"  
  
Harry grinned, "You truly do have a way with word Tiernan.... and no I'm not."  
  
Tiernan shook his head and clapped Harry on the shoulder once before walking back toward the castle.  
  
A few hours later  
  
Harry paced in his room waiting for the moon to fully rise. Finally the last of the human yells died out, being replaced by yips, barks, and howls.  
  
Harry transformed and walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. A bronze wolf looked back at him, with a black blaze, mimicking his lightning bolt scar, which ran from the tip of his nose to the top of his head.  
  
He headed toward the door and opened it with a turn of a paw. He soon joined the others outside, making them all jump slightly as they recognized his scent. The twins found him easily; they had dark brown coats with a white patch over opposite eyes. He had been mock fighting with them for a while when he was suddenly he was hit from the side knocked over.  
  
Harry was up in an instant, intent on finding out who did that. He yelped when he recognized who it was, Tiernan.  
  
Tiernan lowered himself to attack again, but this time Harry was ready. They fought for most of the night, never wounding to harm, but to see who the stronger wolf was. A group of wolves lazily watched their fight, forming a half circle around them. The twins and the other cubs yipped and barked adding to the din.  
  
Harry suddenly got an idea and ducked under Tiernan, flipping him by jumping up when he was under Tiernan's stomach and then he pinned Tiernan to the ground. His victory was short lived, however, as Tiernan rolled them both over continuing the fight.  
  
Only when the sun creped up over the mountains and its beams hit the wolves did the fight stop. They all gave a howl, Harry joining in for the heck of it, then began their transformation back to human. Harry lopped off, remembering Moony telling him once that it made the wolf very nervous to transform in front of others; that made him feel very helpless and vulnerable. He flopped down on the ground behind a boulder and started to clean his wounds. He shook himself and transformed back into human, then into his phoenix form.  
  
His wounds instantly healed, he flew over to the werewolves and allowed his tears to fall onto Tiernan, who due to the fight was the only one injured.  
  
As he started to wake, Harry flew up a few feet above the ground before transforming back into human. Tiernan watched with interest as the phoenix changed into his black-haired charge.  
  
Tiernan gave a big yawn and sat up addressing Harry, "So, you're an animagus. Well giving credit where it's due, you're not a bad wolf."  
  
"Hey!" Harry said indignantly, "Not bad? I nearly beat your old wolf hide thank you!"  
  
"You're welcome." Tiernan said giving a very wolfish grin and throwing a cloak over his bear shoulders.  
  
Harry looked around at the others who were doing the same and frowned slightly, "Tiernan, why is it that the others aren't hurt at all?"  
  
"Well," Tiernan said grinning at him, "They were more interested in our fight than starting ones themselves," He laughed, "Lazy mutts!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, "I meant from the transformation."  
  
"Oh," Tiernan shrugged, "Only those loner wolves get hurt like that. They tear themselves up, I think because their separated from anything else."  
  
Harry nodded and stretched his arms, smiling when he saw Marrok and Larentia pick up the twins, each one fast asleep in their parent's arms.  
  
Tiernan nudged him suddenly and said when Harry looked at him, "Rematch next moon?"  
  
Harry laughed, "Sure but you're going to lose."  
  
Tiernan grinned federally, "We'll see about that, cub."  
  
Harry smirked then asked suddenly, "What do the vampires do during full moons?"  
  
Tiernan shrugged again, "I dunno, vampire stuff."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes again, "You just know everything Tiernan."  
  
"Of course I do." He replied smugly.  
  
Harry yawned, "I'm going to bed." he said before transforming into his phoenix form again and taking off to his room.  
  
Flying through the window half blinded by tiredness, Harry felt a vague sense of gratefulness that he had thought to leave it open from when he went flying.  
  
A chuckle from the shadows woke Harry up completely and he looked up to see Vanora leaning against the wall watching him.  
  
Harry sighed, "Beat it you over grown mosquito. I need to get some sleep."  
  
Vanora laughed, making the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand on end even though he knew she wouldn't harm him.  
  
"Such manners little Kenani. The Lady Kali wishes you to meet her tonight for training."  
  
Harry nodded wearily, "Please tell the Lady I'll be there."  
  
Vanora nodded grinning at him showing off her fangs, making Harry promptly grin back showing off his normal teeth. She laughed again and walked out of the room careful not to step near the beams of sunlight coming from the open window.  
  
Harry sighed and fell back on to the bed and into a, at first anyway, dreamless sleep.  
  
A/N lol you haven't heard the last of the mosquito comments! Thanks for all the past reviews! I hope everyone likes my last part of the Phoenix series. Please review and I will continue it!!! 


	2. The New Turn

Flame of the Phoenix  
  
Child of the new Dawn  
  
A/N thanks for the reviews! Note that this is going to get a LOT darker. In this last part the second wizard war is really in effect and people are going to start feeling the consequences of war. At the moment I have two large battle scenes coming up, maybe more.  
  
The New Turn  
  
Harry tossed and turned in his bed, lost in the clasp of another nightmare.  
  
He was in Hogwarts, standing in the middle of an empty corridor, with only flickering torches for light. He could dimly hear muffled screams and shouts all around him.  
  
Suddenly, there was a shriek right behind him and he whipped around to see a girl, first year by the look of her, clad only in her night dress and a cloak, run toward him with a masked deatheater right behind her. Harry gasped as the girl ran right through him, sprinting down the corridor and out of sight, the deatheater still on her heels.  
  
Still shaken, Harry walked over to the window and looked out onto the grounds. He cried out in shock; the school was on fire and deatheaters roamed the grounds, some dueling teachers and students, some rounding the younger students into groups, and some spreading the fire.  
  
With a jolt he started to fall towards the ground, but was still able to watch the scene in front of him. He gasped when he saw a flash of red hair in the chaos below, and watched his best friend Ron fall to the ground, his eyes glazed and staring. He mouthed silently as he watched Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville meet the same ends.  
  
Scarlet eyes stared into his own, when suddenly Hogwarts was gone. A black tree with withered brown leaves and a scarred trunk as big and thick as a house stood in front of him. A thick gold band with symbols engraved into them was clamped tightly around the trunk, so tightly it was cutting into the bark and a black liquid spilled over onto the gold. The wind blew, rustling the leaves and plucking one from the branch.  
  
The leaf floated in the air before it was surrounded by a black mist, the mist thickened and grew forming long black hair and pulled back revealing a skeletal face. The new banshee shrieked and Harry clamped his hands over his ears as it flew away.  
  
A withered black fruit fell moments later and a black blob pulled out from within the fruit and crawled away leaving nothing but a few brown leaves. It stopped suddenly and shook before becoming a scorpion with a menacing stinger, then a spider the size of a saucer.  
  
Suddenly a cold wind blew and a blood red fruit from the tree shook slightly and then fell to the ground spiting in two. A thick black ball of smoke rose from the fruit, as it rose a frost began around the trunk and the fruit's blood red color withered into black. With a sudden burst of black light, Harry was pushed down on top of the gnarled roots. He looked up with a sudden feeling of foreboding and watched as a rotting hand pulled a tattered hood over an eyeless face. The new Dementor breathed in with a soft sucking sound and floated silently off.  
  
There was a loud crackling sound and Harry turned sharply back to the tree's trunk. Cracks of bright light started to form on the golden band. A high pitched laugh filled Harry's head as his scar burned.  
  
Tap Tap Tap  
  
Harry jerked awake looking around wildly.  
  
TAP TAP TAP  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry looked over at the window where Moony was smiling at him from atop Buckbeak, the sun fairly high up behind him. It was just a dream and it was late morning now.  
  
Harry took a deep breath and smiled back up at Moony, "Hey Moony."  
  
Moony gave him a slightly concerned look and said, "Meet me up on the top of the tower, do you think Tiernan will care if I put a hippogriff on the roof?"  
  
Harry considered it, and then grinned, "Let's let him find out and decide for himself."  
  
Moony grinned and nudged Buckbeck's sides with his heel, then, with one sweep of the hippogriff's wings they were gone.  
  
Harry scrambled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and hurried up the stairs.  
  
Remus was stroking Buckbeak's feathers gently and looking out over the edge of the tower. He was rather pale and tired looking, but otherwise no worse for wear. Buckbeak turned and gazed at him for a moment, Harry gave a quick short bow, which Buckbeak returned and Remus turned and smiled at him, still looking concerned, "Are you alright Harry?"  
  
"I'm fine," Harry replied stroking the hippogriff's beak, "I just wasn't expecting you this soon."  
  
Remus grinned, "Well, Buckbeak did all the work getting here, I just sat and enjoyed the ride."  
  
Harry smirked slightly, "So you'll ride a broom and a hippogriff, but you turn green at just the thought of riding in a Gringotts' cart?"  
  
Remus shuddered and made a face, "Yeah, you're fine. So what do you think of full moons with an entire werewolf pack?"  
  
Harry beamed, "Kenani had Tiernan running with his tail between his legs."  
  
"That's not how I recall it," called Tiernan's slightly hoarse voice, "Hello Remus, don't let anything that cub of yours says fool you, I had him right where I wanted him when the moon waned that's all."  
  
Harry gave a disbelieving snort and Tiernan quickly changed the subject, "So Remus, I heard Dumbledore is meeting with the leaders and representatives today."  
  
Remus nodded, "Yes, they're meeting about now I think. Dumbledore sent you an owl about coming to the new order headquarters right?" He glanced at Harry as if he wanted to add something, but remained quiet.  
  
"I got an owl from him this morning, but I haven't" He gave a large yawn, "read it yet, because someone decided to put their hippogriff on my roof."  
  
As usual, yawns were contagous and Remus and Harry were soon yawning as well.  
  
"Moony, can we talk later?" Harry asked through another yawn.  
  
Remus simply nodded and gave Harry a one-armed hug. He and Tiernan walked down the stairs to their respective rooms, leaving Harry to use his sleep clouded mind and figure out what to do with Buckbeak.  
  
Eventually, Harry decided it would be better just to leave him out, at least for now, and went back to bed vaguely wondering what Dumbledore and the leaders were talking about.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore watched as, once again, the ministers and representatives of the other countries came together to speak on the fate of light.  
  
The new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was easiest described as the exact opposite of Grimmald Place. With help from the, however unwilling, students, Number 11 of Godric's Hollow was fixed up for this meeting and habitation of the order members. Its marble floors were cleaned of dust and debris and all bogarts, spiders, and a small group of gnomes living in the garden were cleared out.  
  
The meeting was being held in the dinning room; a room with a high ceiling, white marble fireplace, with a long dark wood table sitting on a worn deep red carpet.  
  
When Albus had written Harry, he had mentioned Harry was welcome at any time; after all, this was the town Harry lived in when Lily and James were alive. Their house, in fact, once stood not far down the road.  
  
Godric's Hollow once held both muggles and wizards, until after the Potter's were attacked. After Voldemort had met his temporary defeat due to Lily's sacrifice, the houses started to fall apart, a common occurrence with how much magic had been released, and eventually, the muggles unofficially declared Godric's Hollow haunted and condemned. It had been a ghost town until now.  
  
Albus sighed, Remus made note not to stay here any longer than was absolutely necessary, haunted, no doubt, by the memories lost here. He had requested to tell Harry where the new headquarters lay and to let Harry make his own choice to come. Albus had agreed and arranged for Remus to meet Harry at Tiernan's castle after the full moon and tell him of the new headquarters and keep him updated on the news of the Braeden Tree.  
  
The fire flared and Aman Marathi calmly walked out from the fireplace, brushing off soot from his white robes, before bowing to Albus. Albus returned the bow and greeted the blue-robed Adelaide Freda and then the purple-robed Caprice Tessa who arrived a moment later.  
  
Madam Maxine and Canton Nicanor arrived minutes later by portkey.  
  
(A/N just a reminder of who's who here: Canton Nicanor is the Spanish minister, Aman Marathi is the African representative, Adelaide Freda is the German minister, and Caprice Tessa is the Italian minister.)  
  
Each called friendly greetings to one another as they seated themselves. Albus rose from his chair at the head of the table once everyone was seated, "Thank you all for coming. As each of you know, the past year has left us with many confrontations with the dark lord. The werewolves and vampires have been a huge asset to the light side."  
  
Nicanor rose from his seat, "The castle where the werewolves and vampires are stationed has been attacked multiple times over the last year, and while victory for the light was taken every time, we have yet to break Voldemort's army." Ignoring the winces of the others, he continued, "If we are to defeat him, we must stop his armies from gaining more numbers and power."  
  
As he sat down, Freda rose, "Should ze dark lord be killed, his armies vould fall apart. That should be our main objective; not sending what few people ve can spare to go on some suicidal mission to break into ze dark lord's castle only to be slaughtered by those monsters."  
  
Tessa stood, "I agree, nudus alone take a hundred fully trained wizards to bring only one down. The creatures will have no power if we destroy Voldemort and his deatheaters. Once the main threat is taken care of, then we can-"  
  
Marathi was on his feet, "You both speak of the dark lord as if he is some menial task to be done. In the first wizard war, we were no closer to defeating the dark lord than we are now. Who knows what would have happened if Harry Potter hadn't stopped the dark lord when he did! This one creature has caused all this chaos and distrust. He has broken the wizarding world in two! It will not be an easy task to destroy him."  
  
There was silence as Marathi sat, Dumbledore rose to his feet, "Yes, the path to ridding the world of Voldemort will not be an easy one. Besides himself, there are deatheaters in his command that are just as ruthless and cruel as he is. For many, they are fighting some of their own families. The final battle is approaching; Voldemort has one final move that is already in progress. We must use all the time we have at the moment and prepare for the worst."  
  
Madam Maxine finally spoke as well, "The dark lord's army and 'emself must be considered as one force. We must not assume anything."  
  
Nicanor rose again, "Then I suggest we gather all the arours and duelist we can and form an army of our own. We can send some of these fighters to Lord Tiernan's castle to prevent them from being over-whelmed by the constant battles. Also, I suggest that Mr. Potter prepares for the war as well, if he isn't doing so already."  
  
Freda rose, "More dragon riders should be called for, the light had a huge advantage last battle with such power in the air."  
  
Soon it was all agreed on; each person would call on every available fighter: dragon trainers, arours, master duelists, and any one willing to go into battle, and join them all together to form the light army.  
  
Madam Maxine held back as the others left, "Dumbly-dore, can Harry Potter really 'elp us en this battle?"  
  
Albus sighed, "Yes Madam, Harry will play a very important part in this battle."  
  
"To be forced to fight at such a young age," Madam Maxine mused sadly.  
  
Albus simply bowed his head slightly; Harry would indeed have to be in this battle.  
  
Bidding Madam Maxine goodbye, Albus pulled open the door to leave the room, when Ron and Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger came crashing down onto the floor. He chuckled slightly, "Well now, what do we have here?"

A/N comments? Please Review!!


	3. Of Trees and Training

Flame of the Phoenix  
  
Child of the new Dawn  
  
Disclaimer: don't own hp or Creatures of the Dreamlands  
  
A/N sorry for the wait but this chapter was very hard for me to write for some reason and I'm still not very happy with it. I'm going on vacation for two weeks at the end of this one so I'll try and get the next chappie out before I go.  
  
Of Trees and Training  
  
A young man stood on the roots of a white tree, facing the south, as rolling black thunderheads approached. Thick silver chains, all blessed by a priest or priestess, hung from the thick branches and swung in the breeze of the oncoming storm, making soft clinking sounds.  
  
The youth brushed the curly brown hair out of his eyes and squinted into the oncoming blackness. 'I am Alekos,' he thought proudly, 'Son of Adapa. The world has suffered so much from this evil and with the gods' blessings I shall banish them!'  
  
As figures appeared in the darkness, Alekos drew his sword. He could see them now: the dark oily skinned, faceless Nightgaunts with their bat like wings, their hands made up of three long claws, horned heads, and barbed tails. Floating like wraths beside the Nightgaunts were the dementors with their decayed hands and eyeless faces.  
  
On the land ogres, trolls, acromantulas, black cloak-like Lethifolds, huge red-eyed wolves, vampires, and the demon snakes called basilisks, prowled toward him.  
  
Alekos raised his sword toward the sky and closed his eyes, focusing. The sword began to glow a white-bluish light that engulfed the entire blade. Slowly, the glow faded from the handle and a small ball of white light grew at the tip of the sword. As more of the light faded from the sword, the ball grew bigger and light brighter.  
  
He slowly began to trace a pentagram in the air using the light. Once it was completed, Alekos turned toward the white tree and pointed his sword toward the center, "Hydor," one of the lines of the pentagram glowed, "Gaia," another started to glow, "Idea, Helie, Aer." The pentagram burst in a great flash of light and embedded itself into the bark of the tree.  
  
Alekos turned back to the approaching darkness and smiled, one last time. Before the darkness reached the roots of the tree. The pentagram glowed once more and with a crackling sound, a crack of white light appeared in the tree. The creatures screamed in pain as the light grew and pulled them forward. The tree's white bark and green leaves became tainted with black, gray, and brown. The chains clanged together loudly and began to connect to each other, finally creating a gold band, that fitted itself tightly around the tree, symbols of binding, banes, and purities, were engraved on the band. And so, the Tree of Breaden, tree of darkness, was created and Alekos was never seen again.  
  
Years past and slowly the charms began to fade, allowing small demons to escape, but the powerful ones have not been released... yet.

* * *

Harry glared at the ceiling of his room and twisted onto his stomach. He hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep since Moony had woken him up. With a sigh, Harry gave up and got out of bed. He got dressed and went to check on Buckbeak.  
  
He found the hippogriff as restless as he was and winced seeing the deep gorges Buckbeak's talons had made in the stone. After a hasty bow, Harry clambered onto Buckbeak's back and nudged the hippogriff's side with his foot, taking off into the air.  
  
With two sweeps of the hippogriff's wings, they were above the highest tower of Tiernan's castle. Harry had Buckbeak circle the castle once, looking for a place the hippogriff would be more comfortable, when Harry pulled the rope around Buckbeak's neck, that acted as a surrogate reins, towards the right down by the edge of the woods.  
  
They landed with a heavy 'thud' and Harry slid off of the hippogriff's back. Buckbeak seemed happy with the change of scenery as he lay down under a large tree, folding his wings contentedly. Harry flopped on the ground next to him, leaning against him slightly. After a while Buckbeak nudged his arm until he patted his beak. After a few minutes of being petted, Buckbeak laid his head down on the ground and closed his eyes sleepily.  
  
Harry lingered for a few moments, then stood and headed toward the castle as the sun started to get low in the sky. He considered going back to his room, but decided against it and nicked some food from the kitchens, so he could eat before his training session with Kali.  
  
The vampires lived down under the castle, where no sunlight can reach them. As they could see in the dark, the only illumination in the long stairways and corridors leading down there were either wand light or by 'borrowing' a torch from another corridor.  
  
Harry found torches to be a pain to bring along, as you had to find a place to put them without burning the place down and had to remember to bring the torch back to its original place as well, so he walked down with only a single beam of light from his wand to guide him.  
  
He and Kali meet in a long stone room adjoining the vampire's sleeping room. Harry had to admit, he didn't think he'd ever get used to walking into a room with sarcophagi lined up in rows or up against the wall to make room for moving about.  
  
During the day the vampires were left mostly alone, save for a brave werewolf or two who either needed a word with one of them and Harry coming down in the early evenings. Harry's sleeping schedule changed daily, depending when he had to go and see Kali. He fought back a yawn; it looked like he would only get a few hours today.  
  
"Nox." Harry whispered softly as he finally came to the thick wooden door and pulled it open. Here, like at St Mungos', there were crystal bubbles to provide a soft light for the room. There were a few vampires awake when Harry entered the room and their eyes glowed for a moment as they regarded him. Vanora and Melantha both nodded slightly towards him then continued their conversation.  
  
Harry slipped his wand into his pocket and went into his training room. It was bare, save for two large bookcases and a few chairs piled in a corner. Harry wandered over to the bookcases and pulled out the large dark green book, which he had been studying out of. He grabbed a chair from the corner and pulled out his wand, directing one of the bubbles to come closer so he could read.  
  
The book was terribly dull, but it also happened to be the only book in English about auras of spells, wards, and magical beings. He flipped to the page he left off on and began to read:  
  
'_Auras are, in a sense, like signatures. Each spell, ward, or magical being has a different aura depending on the type and power its magic. Wizards and Witches have red auras that vary in shades, amounts, and appearance. The darker and greater the color the stronger the wizard or witch is in most occasions.  
  
Wards, on the other hand, are almost impossible to see, save for those who train specifically for that purpose. Wards are most often used to protect places and due to that, are made difficult to find and break.'  
_  
"Ready to begin Mr. Potter?" Kali's voice broke the silence.  
  
Harry looked up and quickly put the book away. He turned and walked toward Kali in the middle of the room, "Yes, Lady Kali." He said softly.  
  
She nodded, "Now, as we did last time, try to reach into your magic core and bring out a small portion of it. Remember you must fully relax before you attempt this."  
  
Harry closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders. Slowly he began to look for the old ties of his magic that had once connected to his ring. He found them after a few minutes and began gently tugging at them. A warm feeling grew around his chest, and soon Harry stopped tugging and opened his eyes.  
  
A small flicker of red light was hovering a few inches away from his chest.  
  
"Good," Kali said softly and picked up a pot with a dying plant inside, "Now I want you to try and rejuvenate this plant using that little bit of magic floating in front of you. Think of it as wandless magic, only you're manipulating the magic to do the job and not the object."  
  
Harry focused on the magic and soon it began to move and flicker like a very small fire. Slowly it wrapped around the plant and started to sink into the soil and stem. The stem's yellow color slowly changed into a healthy green and a red rose blossomed before their eyes.  
  
Harry flopped back into a chair, feeling drained, as the flower fully blossomed.  
  
"That, Mr. Potter, is an extremely slow version of how a plant growing spell works. The difference between a wandless spell and this is, that, with proper training, you will be able to control and manipulate objects even if you are under a magic-blocking spell. A wandless spell is never as powerful as a spell with a wand, you need to remember that.  
  
However, there is a risk. This magic is only for emergencies. You see how tired you are after just a simple spell; imagine a shielding charm or even an unforgivable. Due to the fact that you have excess magic as it is, you can use more than most of your kind, but still only use it in life or death situations. And," she said with a feral grin, "With how many you've been in, I think I can trust you to chose when and when not to use it. That's all for tonight, get some rest. You must still be tired from playing with the over-grown puppies."  
  
Harry snickered, "I wouldn't recommend saying that to Tiernan."  
  
Kali smirked and left the room with Harry following.

* * *

Remus was in Harry's room when he returned from training with Kali. Harry gave him a tired grin before flopping ungracefully onto his bed.  
  
"Just get back from training?" Remus asked sitting beside him.  
  
Harry nodded, "So, what did you find out about the Braeden Tree?"  
  
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his brown and gray hair, "It doesn't look good. Apparently a Greek named Alekos locked all the demons and evil creatures into a great tree and sealed them within it. As the years went by, the weaker creatures such as dementors, bogarts, and banshees have escaped from the seal..."  
  
Harry sat up frowning, "Since when are dementors considered weak creatures?"  
  
"Dementors are the least of our problems." Remus answered grimly, "There are creatures called Nightghasts; faceless gargoyle-type creatures with three long sharp claw-like hands that fly, there are then the ancients of both my kind and vampires that are more deadly than any of either kind you have met, basilisks, dragons, you name it Harry they're all going to be released by Voldemort!"  
  
"Isn't there a way to stop them?" Harry asked.  
  
Remus shook his head, "Harry, these creatures are so old no one knows how to kill them. The Nightghasts are somehow immune to even the killing curse! The ancients still may be killed, one reason we wanted hunters on our side, but it won't be easy....."  
  
"So we have to stop Voldemort from releasing the creatures and then fix the seal, right?" Harry questioned.  
  
Remus nodded, "Some of the order members are already working on it back at headquarters...." He trailed off.  
  
"What's headquarters like, Moony? Ron's already complaining about cleaning it up."  
  
Remus sighed again and looked back up at Harry, steeling himself, "Harry..... do you remember the name of the place where your parents lived before they died?"  
  
Harry looked slightly confused at the sudden change of topic, but answered, "Yes, Godric's Hollow."  
  
Remus nodded and swallowed, "Well, after...... that night...... the town of Godric's Hollow was condemned due to the houses collapsing. It sometimes happens to places where large amounts of magic was used. No one really knows why, but Godric's Hollow became a ghost town, so-to-speak, until now. Harry, the new headquarters is in Godric's Hollow. Its really just up the road from where you're parents lived."  
  
Harry looked down at the covers of his bed, "Why there?" he asked thickly.  
  
"The large amounts of magic is what Dumbledore needs for the wards. Harry, the choice is yours if you want to go or not. You don't have to."  
  
"Is..... is there anything left of....?"  
  
Remus sighed and shook his head even though he knew Harry couldn't see, "No, Voldemort completely destroyed it. There are just.... a few remains left. Bits of wood and the old gate, nothing else."  
  
Harry nodded still staring at the bed cover and Remus hesitated before saying, "The muggles gave them two grave stones, up on a hill near their old house. I've been there before, I'd take you there if you want to go."  
  
"I want to go." Harry said firmly, finally looking up.  
  
"We can go at the end of the week then. Ron and Hermione want to see you on your birthday after all." Remus said softly wrapping one arm around Harry's shoulders.  
  
Harry simply nodded and rested his head on Remus' shoulder for a moment, before yawning widely.  
  
Remus ruffled his hair slightly, "Get some more sleep, we'll talk some more later."  
  
Harry was asleep before he even closed the door.

* * *

A/N sorry again for the long wait, the next chapter should be a little easier to write (hopefully) and I'll try to get it out before I go but no promises. Needs reviews to be continued!!!  
  
Thanks to all who reviewed I'm glad you like it! I really appreciate the great reviews!!  
  
Unicorn11- wow really? Do you speak it or do you just know about it. 


	4. Godric's Hollow

Flame of the Phoenix Child of the new Dawn  
  
Disclaimer: don't own don't sue  
  
A/N hey y'all back early from my trip so here's a new chappie for the 4th of July for those who celebrate it!!  
  
Thanks to all who reviewed it means a lot to me!!  
  
Chapter 4: Godric's Hollow  
  
The week pasted quickly for Harry, though he noticed the hunter Jaugar's dark eyes following him more and more. The twins had heard of Harry's soon departure and now they constantly had to be half-pried off Harry's arms when he was needed alone for something.  
  
Remus disliked the fact the twins followed Harry around, if only because they considered Remus a walking playground. The werewolf could only stand so long of being jumped on, climbed over, and having his hair pulled without grabbing the twins, none too gently, and shoving them on Harry.  
  
Harry was grateful of Remus' constant presence, as the hunter did not approach him when he was near. He had once asked Remus what his thoughts were on Jaugar and he had simply stated that he was not fond of hunters in general. His tone was the only thing that kept Harry from inquiring more, but he had heard from the others in Tiernan's castle that Remus had been forced to fight many hunters and even his own kind, when Voldemort had first come to power.  
  
The day Harry was due to leave dawned bright and sunny. Harry said goodbye to the desolate twins and went out into the grounds. Remus and Tiernan were already outside and judging from their expressions and the nearly hysterical laughter from Remus, told Harry Tiernan was being teased for something or another.  
  
"What's going on?" Harry asked as he approached the pair.  
  
Remus grinned at him, but before he could speak Tiernan quickly said, "Just talking about what method of travel is the most convenient."  
  
"In other words the only one the 'big strong wolf' isn't afraid to use." Remus finished.  
  
"Alright already!" Tiernan interrupted, and turned on Harry, "I'm not one for travel, that's all." He glowered at them daring them to argue.  
  
"That's the problem with werewolves," Kali's smooth voice projected from a shadow veil that surrounded her, protecting her from the sun, "Always acting childish."  
  
"When are we leaving?" Harry interjected, stopping Tiernan from replying.  
  
"Portkey." Remus answered gesturing toward an old battered book lying on the grass at their feet, bearing the title '_Anger Management'_ on its cover, "We'll be leaving in a minute."  
  
"What about Buckbeak?" Harry asked glancing back toward the forest, where Buckbeak was napping in the shade of a large oak tree.  
  
Remus glanced back as well and grinned, "I think he'll be happier here. We'll only be gone for a week or so."  
  
The book glowed a light blue and they each grabbed a corner and were pulled forward in a whirl of color.

* * *

Number 11 Godric's Hollow stands out from its fellow houses in many ways, first and foremost, it alone still stood up straight and was not crumbling to the ground. Also, its arched white doorway and large red door, both scrubbed clean, added color to the earth dull scenery.  
  
The grass covering the abandoned lawns was a sickly green with large spots of tan dead grass and littered with trash. At the end of a dusty and cracked road was a hill with a lone tree growing at the top, its pink petals a hazy blur from were the portkey landed.  
  
Harry did not find the sight that met his eyes to be reassuring, as he steadied himself from their arrival. Harry could see the wards here much easier, as Remus had said, there was magic everywhere in the air and it wrapped around the house like silver strands of a cocoon.  
  
Remus glanced at Harry before walking up to the door and rang the doorbell. There was a loud 'click' and Remus spoke loudly and clearly, "Ton-Tongue Toffees," Harry snicker was almost drowned out by a series of loud clicks that followed and the door opened on oiled hinges.  
  
Harry followed Remus inside slowly, looking around as he did. The floor was made up of large squares of black marble and covered by threadbare carpets throwing randomly around the room.  
  
Empty portraits hung on the walls, along with a few candlestick holders with long candles unlit inside them. Old fashioned and uncomfortable- looking furniture was littered around the room haphazardly.  
  
Their quiet footsteps broke the heavy silence of the house and Harry couldn't help but wonder if they had gone to the wrong place, when he heard a familiar shriek and his view was obstructed by a mass of bushy brown hair, "Harry! Its so good to see you!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Friend of yours?" Tiernan asked dryly as Harry pried Hermione off his arm, not unlike he was forced to do with the twins.  
  
"Honestly Hermione, can't you see him for once without strangling him? Hey mate." Ron said from a doorway down the hall a ways.  
  
"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you could come here for your birthday! My goodness 17 tomorrow! How much you've grown!" Mrs. Weasley sniffed as she pulled Harry into another bone-crushing hug, having just come down from a stairway at the end of the hall.  
  
"Come on, let's go before she gets all mushy on us." Ron muttered and Harry followed him up the stairs with Hermione behind him.  
  
The stairs were a polished wood "My arms went numb trying to scrub all the dust and dirt off them," Ron muttered as they climbed. Hermione gave a snort, "You didn't work that long." At the top of the stairs was a large room made up of a kitchen with a door at the far end that stood ajar, revealing a large dark wooden table and red carpet, and a doorway that led into another large room.  
  
A few order members were in the far room, which Harry presumed was the dining room, and glanced over when they entered and called greetings. Harry turned when he heard a soft whistle, "Nice place for an army headquarters." Tiernan commented as he led the way up the stairs followed by Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Kali.  
  
"Much better than Grimald place," Tonks said cheerfully striding over, and nearly tripping on the leg of her chair on the way, toward them.  
  
Kali glanced at the shaded windows and lowered the black shield from around her. Remus smiled at Tonks and asked, "Is Dumbledore here?"  
  
Tonks shrugged, "Not yet, he's due soon though."  
  
"Humpt, always late." Moody grumbled from the doorway of the dining room and shuffled back to his seat at the large table, "Remus could you grab the kettle, I'd ask Tonks but she'd probably kill some one with a kettle full of hot water."  
  
Tonks rolled her eyes at the ceiling, "Come on Mad-eye I'm not that-oops!"  
  
Harry grabbed her elbow and just managed to pull her up on her feet before she tripped over the same chair twice. Remus chuckled and picked up the kettle as the entered the room.  
  
The room had a high ceiling, white marble fireplace, a worn deep red carpet, and a dark wooden table where quite a few of the order members sat. Harry flopped down in a seat, Ron and Hermione settling on either side of him, and Hermione began bombarding Harry with questions on what he had learned about werewolves and vampires.  
  
"Why not just ask Remus and Lady Kali?" Harry laughed and promptly engaged Ron into conversation about the latest Quidditch matches, grinning when he saw Hermione began speaking to Lady Kali as respectfully as she could.  
  
Dumbledore entered a few minutes later and nodded toward Harry saying, "Welcome back to Godric's Hollow, Harry. Are you enjoying your stay at Tiernan's castle and, dare I ask it, keeping out of trouble?"  
  
Tiernan snickered, "Harry couldn't stay out of trouble anywhere. And he happens to owe me a rematch."  
  
"So you're finally admitting your defeat?" Harry asked leaning back in his chair so he could see him.  
  
"If the moon hadn't-" He started.  
  
"Yes Professor Dumbledore, I'm enjoying my stay immensely." Harry interrupted.  
  
Dumbledore squeezed Harry's shoulder gently and took his place at the head of the table. The meeting wasn't all the interesting, Dumbledore and the rest of the order mostly repeated things Harry already knew, so when the door was suddenly flung open, Harry jumped in his seat suddenly alert.  
  
Ashon was standing in the doorway, a cut across his left cheek and blood on his chin, looking down the table where he spotted Tiernan and Remus, both half out of their seats. Harry glanced at Remus and watched him take in Ashon's appearance, a crease forming on his forehead.  
  
"Dumbledore... Tiernan," Ashon said softly, breathing hard, "The seal on the tree, it has broken even more...... the Nightghasts..... they've escaped. I've seen them.... flying toward...... Voldemort's castle."  
  
"How many?" Dumbledore asked sharply raising to his feet.  
  
Ashon shook his head, "Too many to count, they rose up into the sky like a black cloud. They'll head toward Voldemort, he is the strongest being of dark magic now, and then....."  
  
Dumbledore turned back toward the order members, "Tiernan, I will accoumpany you back to your castle and we will speak with Jaugar on this matter. His people have been hunting demons before the tree was even sown. Lady Kali, I ask that you search for any information your kind might have on these demons. Remus, Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, I want you four to look in the library here and see if you can find anything. Remus, I know you found some information..... I'd like to see it when I return. Ashon," He said turning back to him, "Keep an eye on the Nightghasts, and report to me if they move."  
  
An hour later, Harry and the others went into the library, which happened to be the only room not cleaned out yet, and Harry could see why. The room itself was huge and filled with bookshelves and piles and piles of papers and books filling in whatever space was left. Remus left to get some papers leaving the trio to spilt up and each take a part of the room, Harry on the right, Ron in the middle, and Hermione on the left.  
  
Harry flipped though papers bound together with twine and others with half ripped off covers, skipping those that were in a different language. Three hours later Harry was finished looking through the piles that filled up the space between the bookshelves. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and opened the window he had discovered hidden by two large stacks of loose paper and bits of binding, and took a deep breath of fresh air. The musty air in the library had been getting to him.  
  
After a few more moments of breathing in the fresh air, Harry climbed over the piles and went to see how Hermione and Ron were doing.  
  
Ron was more than willing to take a break, as was Hermione, who had already sorted though her set of piles and was a quarter of the way done with going though the shelves.  
  
"Anything?" Harry asked them as he sat down on an overturned box.  
  
"Nope." Ron said flopping onto the floor and lying down on a mattress of loose paper.  
  
"I had no idea the library would be this bad," Hermione commented, neatly turning over a box herself and sitting on it.  
  
"I don't even know what I'm really looking for anyway." Harry commented looking up at the cobwebbed ceiling.  
  
"Well here are some things you three can read while you take a break." Remus said walking back into the library with an armful of old books, "I know what to look for, so I'll be a bit faster than you three. You've been working hard anyway."  
  
He summoned a large jug of pumpkin juice and three glasses, before leaving them with the books and wandering down Hermione's row.  
  
The tiny print was hard to make out, as Harry skimmed through the chapter listings, hoping to find something that might include information about Nightghasts. What information he did find, was merely a printed version of what Remus had told him.  
  
Remus joined them again a little while later and conjured sandwiches for them as a late lunch. Not long afterwards, Remus announced that the books here would be of little use and sent them all out of the library to get cleaned up for dinner.  
  
With his stomach full and being exhausted from the researching, Harry followed Ron into a room with two twin beds and a single nightstand with a lamp in between them, and fell asleep.  
  
However, Harry's sleep was far from peaceful as flashes of flames and flickers of lost memories clouded his dreams for the better part of the night. Harry awoke fairly early and tossed his pillow at the snoring Ron out of habit.  
  
Ron muttered something and rolled over, so Harry got up and went upstairs into the kitchen. Remus was reading the _Daily Prophet_ with a cup of tea on the counter and looked up when Harry entered the room, "Happy Birthday Harry."  
  
Harry smiled and grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit, before glancing at the paper in Remus' hands, "Thanks. Anything interesting going on?"  
  
Remus shrugged, "Not really, no one had any real luck searching for information either. Lady Kali hasn't returned yet though, so maybe she'll find something."  
  
"There must be some record of them...." Harry muttered, still munching on his apple.  
  
"Oh, there are records of them, but nothing on fighting or killing them. Since they're immune to the killing curse, we don't have much else stronger."  
  
"Did Dumbledore have any luck with Jaugar?" Harry asked.  
  
Remus sighed and folded up the paper neatly, "No, he wasn't there when they arrived. No one knows where he is."  
  
They were silent for a moment.  
  
"But enough of that for now," Remus said brightly, "You're 17 today and legally allowed to do magic."  
  
Harry grinned, "Finally I'm doing something legal."  
  
Remus laughed, but before he could say anything, the others had woken and were calling their 'happy birthdays' to Harry. After a huge breakfast from Mrs. Weasley, Remus pulled Harry aside, "Grab a cloak." was all he said and left to go to his room.  
  
Wondering what Remus was up to, Harry grabbed a light cloak and met Remus by the door. Mrs. Weasley looked concerned as Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and led him outside.  
  
Harry looked around at the fallen houses as they headed toward the hill. He stopped suddenly, for no apparent reason, in front of one house. Half of its gate had fallen down and the rest looked like it would be soon to follow. The wood was charred black in some places and what looked like remnants of a garden was brown and overrun with spindly weeds. A pang of sadness went through Harry's heart as he stared at the wreckage.  
  
Remus squeezed his shoulder gently and whispered softly, "This is where Lily and James took you when they went into hiding. It was...... their last house...... You were found in the middle of the wreckage, thankfully away from the fires......"  
  
Harry stared at his lost home for several minutes, before he looked back at Remus and nodded. With another gentle squeeze of his shoulder, Remus began to lead the way again.  
  
Harry's thoughts were a blur, never truly making sense, but Harry wasn't really trying to think about anything as the neared the top of the hill. He looked up and saw a pretty little tree with pink flowers in its branches and on the ground around it, the petals floating around them in the breeze and fell onto two marble stones. One was of a rose colored marble with white lettering _LILY POTTER_ engraved into the stone. The other was of white marble with black onyx lettering _JAMES POTTER_ engraved into the stone.  
  
Harry knelt beside the stones gently tracing the letters with his fingers. On his mother's stone was carved a white lily and the words, '_loving wife and mother'_ on it. On his fathers was carved a black stag and the words, '_loving husband and father_' on it.  
  
Only when the first of the tears fell to the ground, was Harry aware he was crying. His parents lay here, under this very ground. He let his hand drop down onto the soft grass that grew over the graves.  
  
Remus knelt beside him and with a quick movement cleared away the grass growing too high around the stones. Harry pulled out his own wand and preformed his first legal spell out of school. He conjured two bouquets of white lilies and laid them down on the graves.  
  
Harry leaned into the arm that wrapped around him and buried his face into Remus' chest. "They would have been so proud of you Harry." Remus muttered into Harry's unruly hair, "They loved you so much."  
  
"Moony, promise me you won't die for me." Harry murmured into Remus' chest.  
  
"I promise I'll be there for you as long as can. I can't promise I won't die someday."  
  
Harry nodded into his chest and pulled away, hurriedly wiping his eyes with his hands.  
  
Remus rested his hand on Harry's back for a moment, "I'll wait for you at the bottom of the hill. Take all the time you need." He rose and walked slowly down the hill, lost in his own memories, and sat on a stone at the bottom.  
  
Harry looked back at the two stones and reached out to rest his hand on his mother's, "Mum, I promise I'll do everything I can for the light. Thank you for the sacrifice you gave for me, I love you and wish I'd gotten to know you."  
  
He placed his hand on his father's grave next, "Dad.... I understand that you were a good person, even if you weren't perfect as a teenager. I promise to do everything I can for the light and uphold the good name most people give to you. Thank you for fighting for me, I love you and hope I make you proud."  
  
Harry stood and looked down at the two graves, "Padfoot...." He whispered softly, "If you can hear me, thank you for everything. You were my family and still are. Thank you for guiding me as long as you could." He smiled though the tears still trickling down his face, "May Prongs, Padfoot, and the White Lily live on."  
  
With one last look at the graves, Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and walked slowly down the hill. A lily was pulled out of the bouquets and fell onto Harry's shoulder. Harry held it in his open palm and let the wind carry it into the sky.  
  
Remus turned when Harry approached him and pulled him into a tight hug.  
  
"Thanks Moony. For showing me." Harry murmured softly.  
  
"Anytime, if you ever need to come back, just say so." Remus said, and then pulled back, "Are you ready to go back?"  
  
Harry glanced back at the hill once more then turned to Remus, "Yes."  
  
No one at the headquarters asked where'd they had gone, only welcomed them back and insisted that they have a party for Harry's birthday. Harry enjoyed the party, despite his somewhat heavy heart, especially when Fred and George showed up with bags of treats and tricks for Harry. That night, Harry slept well.

* * *

A/N please review and tell me what you think!! Thanks to those who already reviewed!!! Did I put enough angst in this one? Too much?  
  
Special thanks to rosepetal13 for reading my series in record time!! Thanks for the muffin and the complements!! 


	5. Bad Omens

Flame of the Phoenix  
  
Child of the new Dawn  
  
Disclaimer: don't own don't sue  
  
A/N sorry for the late update, I was in NJ with my aunt and her family, but I'm back in time for my birthday! The 26th. Anyway hope you enjoy.  
  
POLL: Who should be Head Boy? Captain of the Gryffindor Team? Who should be Head Girl?

* * *

**Bad Omens  
**  
Most of the campfire stories muggles tell always start with a stormy night and a rickety old house no one uses anymore, Harry's haunted house however, had a bright red door with polished marble and wooden floors. To Harry, the gloom of Grimald place, had simply been given a fresh coat of paint and been polished. Number 11 Godric's Hollow had become Harry's version of a haunted house.  
  
The wards around the house changed with the 'waves' of magic that existed in this ghost town. Moony had tried to explain it to Harry, while resting from his now numerous trips to 'other places' whose names he would never tell. His explanation was when Voldemort had attacked Harry's parents and the killing curse had backfired, the curse did not fulfill its purpose of killing anyone so its magic simply wonders aimlessly, waiting to be directed. Dumbledore took advantage of this and directed a large proportion of the magic into the wards. Due to the waves, the wards would often cover the entire town or large parts of it.  
  
During those times, the trio was allowed to go out and fly, provided they didn't leave the town and were under some supervision. Harry shivered unpleasantly as the now familiar feeling of the hairs of the back of his neck rising and an uncomfortable tingling spread through his body. He couldn't help but think it wouldn't be as bad staying in this dead town if Remus was with him, but he was always out gathering information, meeting someone, or doing some kind of order mission and was rarely around for more than a few hours. After another unpleasant tingle washed over him, Harry dived quickly and landed in front of headquarters.  
  
So far the only information they had on the Nightghasts was the description Ashon had provided. The order managed to unearth more books dealing with the Nightghasts, but they were all written in the same dull tone, Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher and only ghost teacher, droned on about Giant Wars.  
  
The one good night sleep, Harry had gotten the day he had visited his parent's graves, was short-lived and was soon replaced by disturbing dreams with shadows and a dull roar of voices, that always ended with the veil in the Department of Mysteries.  
  
Ron and Hermione had noticed his darkened mood almost immediately and confessed more or less the same feelings about the town. "There's just something wrong, like a sense of foreboding the minute you enter," Hermione described the town thoughtfully. Harry had often looked up at the hill were his parents were buried, but had not gone up to see them again.  
  
By the week's end, Harry was far from sad that he was leaving this place to return to Tiernan's castle. Unfortunately, Remus could not join them, having other 'things' that needed to be done. He stopped in long enough to give Harry a quick one-armed hug and shake hands with Tiernan before he was off again. Lady Kali was also not accompanying them, busy with her own research. With a sad goodbye to Ron and Hermione and promises to write more often, Harry grabbed hold of the book portkey and was pulled forward.  
  
The twins were asleep when they arrived, so Harry went up to his room and dumped his things on the floor, before flopping down on the bed. He skimmed through the pile of Daily Prophets that had been delivered while he was gone. One title caught his attention, 'Fudge Calls For Re-election' with a big picture of ex-minister Fudge puffing out his chest and speaking to several reporters. Harry skimmed the paragraph and sighed, Fudge was going to try to get re-elected and would make a speech on it in November to request a new election after the New Year.  
  
He skimmed the rest of the newspapers and then tossed them next to his trunk. Harry yawned and pulled on his pajamas, before getting into bed. He buried his face into the pillows and hoped the distance of Godric's Hollow would prevent the disturbing dreams.  
  
Harry's morning began early with the twin's usual wake up call, namely jumping up and down on the bed with him still in it. To ward off questions about Godric's Hollow, Harry sent them off to breakfast with a Lemon Drop each.  
  
As soon as the Twins shut the door, Harry flopped back onto the bed and closed his eyes. While he hadn't had any dreams, he felt like he had simply blinked and morning had come. He ran a hand over his face and groaned when he felt little bristles on his chin. He had been shaving for most of the summer, if you could call cutting your face up shaving, but now at least he could use a spell Remus had told him about after his first few attempts.  
  
Knowing the twins would come back up soon, Harry pulled on some clean clothes and got ready for breakfast.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles away, where the Tiernan had allowed the forest to thicken, Ashon sprinted toward a clearing. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, Ashon had not expected this. They had almost been certain the Nightghasts would attack Hogwarts or the Ministry, but not this.....  
  
Willing himself not to look back to the sight that had made his blood freeze moments earlier, Ashon reached the clearing. A theastral, one of Dumbledore's or Hagrid's really, was tethered to a tree with a long length of rope. It turned its large eyes toward him, no doubt smelling the blood from the small cuts of the underbrush Ashon had to run though. Cursing softly as he fumbled with the rope, Ashon swung himself onto the giant horse and took off into the air. Clutching the beast tighter with his knees, he risked a look back.  
  
The Nightghasts were about to attack Tiernan's castle and there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

It was screams of fear that greeted Harry as he reached the final stair. He hurried forward to a group of werewolves who were all talking worriedly.  
  
"What's going on?" Harry asked stepping toward them.  
  
"Potter," one man, whose name Harry didn't know said, "gather the children and take them down to the vampires' rooms, keep them all together."  
  
"Why, what's going on?" Harry asked looking at all the fear filled faces of the adults.  
  
"Nightghasts," was all the answer he got, before they turned back to their whispered conversation.  
  
"Harry!" A bedraggled Ashon gasped, "Get those who can't fight and get to safety now!"  
  
One look at Ashon's state was enough to get Harry moving. He hurried to the Twins' room and found them huddled in a corner, nearly hidden by a large blanket. It took some coxing, but before long Harry managed to discover Larentia had gone to get the other children.  
  
The door opened and Larentia came in with about seven other children, none older than nine. With Harry's help, though he protested at the idea of staying with the children and hiding while others fought, they got the young ones to the vampires' room.  
  
Larentia was hesitant to look around for any remaining vampires, most had disappeared with Kali for some reason Harry had not figured out, so it was left to Harry to roam about looking for any covered sarcophagi.  
  
Finding none, Harry returned to Larentia and the others in the castle that could not fight. After about the second explosion that shook the castle walls, Harry almost couldn't take it. Knowing that leaving now would only expose the others was the only thing keeping him below, but Harry still paced wishing he could be more useful and annoyed that he was still considered a 'child'. The pain came suddenly; as if a force was trying to cleave his head in two and along with it a sense of great amusement. Harry fell to the floor and remained still for a few moments, before the pain abated slightly and Harry threw up his mental shields.  
  
Harry sighed and lifted his head to look into the concerned golden eyes of Keane, "You okay?" he asked softly.  
  
Harry nodded grimly and stood up, brushing himself off as he looked upward toward the ceiling. It was quiet now. Harry sighed and the sense of uselessness returned along with frustration. He flopped back onto the floor and leaned against the wall with one knee up against his chest.  
  
After a few moments of silence, Harry could feel the rising tension and fear coming from the others and knew what was going through their minds, 'Is it over?' 'Why is no one coming for us?' 'Is anyone alive?' 'Should we go and see?' 'What if they are in pain and need help?'  
  
Larentia was the first to rise, and approach the door. All eyes turned toward her as she simply stared at it, as if looking for an answer. "Harry," she said finally, breaking the silence and turned to look at him, her face grim and set, "Look after the twins, I know you can fight, but I must go first. Should anything happen....." She trailed off and looked at Harry expectantly.  
  
His mouth too dry to speak, Harry nodded and glanced in the corner where the twins' eyes were glued onto their mother wide with fear.  
  
Larentia took a breath and climbed the stairs, there was a pillar of light as she opened the door and left it open slightly.  
  
In the minutes that passed, it seemed no one dared to breathe, until the door was flung open and the deatheaters entered.  
  
Harry was on his feet in an instant, flinging curse after curse at them while they were confined in the stairway. He forced himself to ignore the cuts that started to appear on his body, not even flinching when one was made just under his right eye. A sudden burst of light flung Harry off his feet, slamming him into the stone wall. Eyes watering, Harry looked up to see a great dark figure in front of him.  
  
A faceless gargoyle-like creature with a whip-like tail ending in a sharp triangle and bat wings was outlined in the light from upstairs. Its long bloodied claws flexed slightly as if wanting to attack while it studied him.  
  
The twins' screams pulled Harry out of his daze and as the world came back into focus a wave of pain washed over him. A deatheater was grabbing the twins by their hair and pulling them to their feet. With a quick wandless spell, the deatheater fell, stiff as a board to the ground, releasing them. Harry never saw the tail of the Nightghast coil back and smash across his face, nor did he see the twins attempt to get to him cut short by the tail of another Nightghast.  
  
He did not see the destruction of Tiernan's castle as he was carried out by a deatheater. Harry only knew and felt darkness.

* * *

Remus' hands shook as he dropped the piece of parchment and watched as it lazily floated to the ground, innocent looking despite the information it held. He buried his face into his shaking hands and then passed them through his graying hair.  
  
Amber eyes looked around as if searching for some ounce of comfort. The apartment he was staying in was fairly small, but comfortable. He was currently sitting in a soft plush chair that sat in front of a fireplace. The apartment had four rooms, a bathroom, a bedroom, a kitchen, and of course the sitting room Remus was in now.  
  
The furniture was sparse but what pieces he did have were comfortable, which was nice to return to after being on his feet all day. Forcing his eyes to stay away from the parchment that still lay innocent on the worn blue rug, Remus stared into the flickering flames, trying not to let the icy grip of fear strangle him.  
  
_Breathe.  
_  
Tiernan's castle had been attacked.  
  
_Another deep breath._  
  
Ashon had tried to warn them, but was now lying unconscious in St. Mungos along with half the other werewolves that had fought. All but those who were killed......  
  
_Just breathe...  
_  
Ashon had been found with his sword and wand still clenched in his hands. Remus knew his sire would not die without a fight.  
  
_Keep breathing.  
_  
_Harry.....  
_  
Remus choked and buried his face into his hands again gripping his hair hard.  
  
Harry had not been found, when the aurors had finally arrived.  
  
Harry had wanted to be an auror, Remus shook his head hard, Harry _would _be one.  
  
When they had arrived they searched the castle though. There were signs of struggle in the rooms below the main castle, where the vampires stayed. Harry's magic signature had been all over the staircase.  
  
At this Remus allowed a small smile, that was his Harry. The smile shattered, Harry wasn't the only unaccounted. Most of the children, including those little ones who hung on Harry, were missing. Along with Tiernan and a few others.  
  
Remus rubbed his eyes and pushed his feelings back painfully to think logically. Cause and effect, reasons, plans, there must be something behind this.  
  
Tiernan was taken for his information of the order, werewolf resources, vampire contacts, and even order business. They had also taken his brother and his niece and nephew. Bile rose in Remus' throat, if they couldn't torture it out of Tiernan, they would use his loved ones against him.  
  
And Harry.....  
  
Remus didn't need many reasons for Harry to be captured. He too knew order secrets (their new location for one), Voldemort knew of his lineage, and of course the fact that Harry constant escapes of Voldemort's plans gave the wizarding world hope.  
  
Remus looked back down at the letter. Death and pain.... in that one little piece of parchment, so much death and pain.  
  
Haunted blue eyes, a hoarse voice, a skeleton-like figure, were the reminders of Sirius' years of Azkaban, and that was with the light under control.  
  
Remus closed his eyes and felt fury rise in him. Sirius had been innocent. He clenched his fist tightly, Harry is innocent and locked in Azkaban that is in the control of Voldemort. He rose sharply and reached for the pot of floo powder on the mantle.  
  
He would die before he allowed Harry to suffer the same fate.  
  
_'Hold on Harry, help is coming......'_  
  
To be continued......  
  
A/N hehehehehe! Gotta love that cliffy!! Happy Birthday to me! So lots of reviews and answers to the poll just might sped out the next one!! Hint hint! Review please! Dawn  
  
Thanks to all who reviewed! They mean a lot to me!!! 


	6. The Pain That Binds

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N Poll: who should be headboy/headgirl? Who should be the captain?

Thanks to Athena.Goddess.Of.Empathy who has the new record of reading my fics in 2 days!! Thanks so much!!!!

* * *

The Pain that Binds

As Harry slowly came into consciousness, he was first aware of lying face down on a cold hard stone floor. As he moved his head up to look around, a burning white pain washed over him, nearly causing him to black out again. After the pain had dulled to a constant throb, Harry slowly and carefully, pushed up on his arms and sat back on his knees to look around.

The cell, as that it undoubtedly was one, had one small window that showed a small expanse of a crashing ocean. The walls were of the same stone as the floor, though they were covered in varies markings, no doubt calendars or other things to keep its last occupant busy. Harry steadfastly ignored the darker smudges on the right wall near a metal ring set into the stone.

On the floor, mostly pushed back into the corners, were pieces of jagged stone that crumbled from the wall or ceiling. Under the window was a small cot, not unlike the one he had sleep inside the cupboard when he lived with the Dursleys. The wall across from the window was open save for the long metal bars that prevented him from simply exiting the room.

Mindful of the wound on his head, Harry slowly rose to his feet and walked toward the bars; grasping them with his fingers and leaning out, resting his forehead against the cool bars.

The hall was empty at the moment, and Harry could only make out shapes and shadows in the other cells. With a flash of panic, Harry turned back toward the cell. The waves crashed furiously against the island of rock. With trembling fingers, Harry touched the name carved by a jagged stone, Sirius Black. Harry felt his knees give out and he kneeled on the floor with one hand still on his godfather's name. He was in Azkaban.

Flashes of his godfather's face, pale and gaunt, appeared in his mind as Harry looked around the place his godfather had spent twelve years of his life, knowing he was innocent.

"Awww.... is the itty bitty baby scared? We thought you might like being in the same cell that once held my dear cousin." A sneering voice cut through the silence.

Harry was on his feet at once, ignoring the pain, and glaring at Bellatrix, "It held you once too...." Harry said quietly.

"Until my master freed me." Bellatrix finished with a twisted smile at Harry, "But you can count on a nice long stay here." She walked away laughing highly.

"H-harry?" The soft voice cut through Harry's anger, as he looked to his left. Kassidy was curled up in the corner, face pressed against the bars, squinting in the darkness at him.

"It's okay, Kassidy. I'm here." Harry murmured softly and reached a hand through the bars and grasped her smaller hand gently.

"Keane won't wake up," she said in a frightened voice, "he's gotta cut on his head. I'm scared."

Harry squeezed her hand tighter, "Is anyone else in there with you?"

She sniffed softly, "Daddy was, but they took him away. H-he told me to be a good girl and don't move w-when they c-came. Is my daddy gonna be okay?"

Before Harry could answer, the door at the far end of the hall opened and two deatheaters walked through carrying a person in-between them. Harry quickly let go of Kassidy's hand and moved back a bit into the cell, watching their approach.

With a spell from one of their wands, a torch attached to the wall ignited and lit up Marrok's face. Harry pushed himself back against the wall with his hand clamped over his mouth. Marrok's face was covered in bruises and cuts, similar to Hagrid's face when he was teaching his half-brother Grump, and he was limp in the deatheaters' arms.

Kassidy scuttled backwards quickly, as they opened the door and threw the man inside. They laughed at Kassidy's pitiful cries and attempts to awaken her father and walked away, extinguishing the torch as they did.

Harry curled up by Sirius' name, wrapping his arms around his knees, as he listen to Kassidy's cries grow softer and then stop as she succumbed to exhaustion. He looked up to the window, were he could glimpse a small square of stormy skies, with Marrok's beaten face still in his mind. How long until it was his turn?

Harry wrapped his arms tighter and laid his head against the stone. As he started to fall asleep, a sudden cold washed over him and his dreams were filled with screams and shadows coming out of the veil at the Department of Mysteries. He knew before he opened his eyes the next morning that the dementors were stationed throughout the hall.

'_Moony..... where are you?'_

* * *

"WHAT?!" Remus shouted.

They were in the dinning room again, which had become the unofficial place where meetings would be held. Hermione and Ron sat side-by-side, their faces pale and worried as they were told the past day's events. Mrs. Weasley sat trembling slightly in her seat with her handkerchief clutched tightly in her hand as she sat next to her husband.

Remus was standing up at the far end of the table glaring daggers at Dumbledore. The old man was sitting at the head of the table and watching Remus with a calm expression. In Remus' anger he did not see the headmaster's hands balled into tight fists or the tenseness in his shoulders.

Tonks paced the length on the room in front of the fireplace, while Moody watched from a chair pulled into the corner where his magical eye took in the others from under the tipped hat he had come accustomed to wearing.

"Remus, the order can not-" Dumbledore began.

"HARRY IS INJURED AND LOCKED UP IN AZKABAN, ALONG WITH THE OTHER CHILDREN AND WEREWOLF LEADERS, AND YOU WANT US TO WAIT A WEEK BEFORE WE EVEN TRY ANYTHING!?!" Remus bellowed, his eyes darkening to a dark burgundy.

"That has to be the loudest I've ever heard you raise your voice in the entire time that I have known you Remus." A sly voice commented from the doorway.

Remus glared at Ashon and opened his mouth, only to close it at the sight of him. Ashon's left arm was surrounded in bandages and up in a sling. Remus could also see, in the holes of Ashon's bloodied shirt, bandages surrounding his chest.

"Potter will certainly be surprised that the ever calm Lupin, finally lost it. But then, I guess it was only a matter of time."

Remus could feel the wolf inside him raise its hackles at the sight and voice of Severus Snape, as he entered the room, "Didn't you know anything about this?" Remus snapped at him, ignoring his sire.

"Of course not, but even if I did, perhaps Potter could use some time in Azkaban. It certainly made an affect on Black, but if Potter is anything like his fa-" Snape was cut off as Remus slugged him right across the face and then pulled him up by the collar of his robes, "Don't you dare say that again." Remus whispered softly and left Snape fall to the ground.

As Remus slumped into a chair he vaguely noticed the impressed looks on Ashon's, Ron's, and Hermione's faces. And of course the disproval from the other adults, save Tonks, who had fallen to the floor with her fist in her mouth to muffle her laughter.

He put his head in his hands and laced his fingers in his hair. From behind him, Remus heard Snape curse and undoubtedly rise with his wand raised. But Dumbledore said sternly, "That's enough Severus, Remus."

There was a pause, and then Dumbledore asked, as though nothing had happened, "Any news Severus?"

"Potter and the..... others.... are indeed in Azkaban. The dark lord has already tortured Marrok and Tiernan for various information. They have not said anything as of yet, but the dark lord is confident that he will break them within the week. Marrok's two brats were among those taken."

He paused for a moment and then said slowly, "As for Potter," Remus raised his head and looked at Snape, feeling no remorse for the black eye forming on the potion master's face, "Between the dark lord and Bellatrix, they have decided to place him in his dear godfather's old cell. They plan to allow Potter to see the results of the others torture before experiencing it himself. The dark lord said he has something '_special'_ planned for him."

Remus stood up abruptly and started to leave, when Snape sneered, "Poor werewolf can't stand the thought of Potter getting a little ruffled?"

Remus was surprised with Ashon responded, "If you don't want a matching eye, then I suggest you shut your mouth, human."

He gave a small nod to Ashon, before going to his room and sitting on the bed. He stared at the floor for a moment, studying the polished wood, while Harry lay freezing on a hard stone slab.

He looked at the ceiling and thought, _'I'll get you out of there Harry, I promise.'_

* * *

Harry placed a hand over his ears, even though he knew the screams weren't coming from the others in the adjoining cells. The dementors had been in place during the night and most of the day.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, pulling up his mind shields for a few moments of sanity. He was still very weak and found he could not pull off even the simplest of spells without his wand, much less break out of his cell.

While he could keep his own demons at bay using his shields, it only switched the torture. Instead of hearing screams inside his head, Harry was forced to listen to the others screams. Harry could guess most of the werewolves' worst memories had to do with their most painful transformations and when a wolf attacked them.

It a twisted sort of comfort, that Keane had yet to awaken for more than a few minutes, keeping his mind safer from the horrible effect of the dementors. Kassidy was much stronger than Harry had ever given her credit for, as she managed to care for both her father and brother while the dementors floated passed.

Harry had yet to see Tiernan, but from Marrok's babble, Harry caught Tiernan's name. It was Larentia Harry was worried about. He had not seen her since the Nightghast attacks.

He had not said anything to Kassidy or Marrok; there was no reason to bring that up now.

He looked out at the ocean again. He hadn't given up the hope that the order would intervene soon, but..... as time wore on, and Harry watched the others sink slowly into depression...... and knowing he wasn't that far behind...... the order had better show up soon or there might not be much left to save.

With a sigh, Harry used what precious energy he had left and transformed into Kenani's wolf form and laid down on top of the cot. It was always strange to shift sudden into this form and it took Harry a few minutes before he could see the room properly in blacks, whites, and grays.

He cocked his head at the bars on his door and then on those on the window before shaking his head. Even in his phoenix form he couldn't make it out and he didn't have enough energy to transform and then fly across an ocean. He would have to wait it out.

Harry sighed and laid his head down on the rough, uncovered cot, trying not to breathe in too deep and fill his lungs with the scent of death and despair that seemed to linger in the walls of Azkaban. A faint screaming buzzed in his head and Harry opened his eyes and transformed back into a human to watch the dementors return with another werewolf.

He dully made a mark on the wall with a piece of stone, one more day passed in Azkaban.

* * *

A/N sorry for the wait, I've just been really busy lately. I WILL update 'Wizards of the Caribbean' soon. I've had about half a chappie for it written already. Please review and answer the poll! I'll try to update sooner and thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday.

Thanks to: emeraldz-jewel, Kemenran, mrs-osbornes's-class, TuxedoMac, Alexis Granger, To-x-i-c-L-i-p-s – thanks a lot for your review!, hi- your review made me laugh, morgaine- I'm very evil, Sasinak- hope you have some hair left, athenakitty-heheh you shall see, rosepetal13- someone broke your record! Oh well you still have the best muffins

Review please!!!


	7. Price Of Freedom

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N thanks to those who reviewed!!

Lady Arwen of Rivendell and madscientistsuz congrats on breaking the record! Can you tell me about how long it took you? I've got another reader who wants to know so she can break it! Thanks for such wonderful reviews I really appreciate them!!

* * *

The Price of Freedom

'_Just one more day_.' Remus thought warily, running a hand though his graying hair as he leaned over the dinning room table, and looked over the map of Azkaban Kingsley had managed to get from the ministry.

"Worried Remus?" Ashon asked as he walked toward him. He had regained full use of his arm and all the bandages had been removed the other morning. He leaned back against the table and watched Remus with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Of course I'm worried about him, look what Azkaban had done to Sirius! He's only-"

"Potter isn't an only anything," Ashon interrupted him, "He certainly isn't a child anymore. He's got his mind shields and animagus forms to give him relief. It's the little ones that worry me. Children's imagination can be more deadly than actual events. Dementors feed on children's nightmares and fears, not only their experiences. Fear of losing their parent's, loneliness, fear of the dark, noises in the night, getting the children out of there should be one of our first priorities."

Remus nodded, it was what Harry would want anyway. He really cared about the terrible twins.

"Just one more day, Remus. Then the werewolves will be at their strongest and will be able to put up a struggle when we break them out. Potter will survive."

* * *

That Night

Harry didn't think he could survive Azkaban if he didn't eat eventually. Though the brown and gray sludge with stale rock hard bread could hardly be considered food, not eating for four days wasn't the best plan if he ever wanted to escape. He couldn't help but see why Sirius had gotten so thin when he was imprisoned here.

He glanced at the cell to the left, where Kassidy and her family were, and to where most of his untouched food went to. Each cell was only given a plate of this sludge and bread, regardless of how many were occupying it. Worried about Marrok's wounds and the children's health, Harry ended up giving his food to them, preferring not to eat until he was near starvation. He had steadfastly ignored the cramps in his stomach up till now.

Reluctantly Harry broke off, with some difficultly, a bit of the bread and put it in his mouth. It felt and tasted like he was trying to eat a brick, but he managed to get it down along with the rest of the rock hard bread.

With a quick movement, Harry dumped the remaing contents of his plate onto the Kassidy's, which was placed in the very corner of her cell, closest to Harry. With a sigh, Harry let the plate fall with a soft clatter onto the floor and got to his feet. He walked leisurely toward the cot and sat down on the edge. Leaning back against the wall, he could see a small portion of the cloudy sky moving swiftly across his window.

He caught a glimpse of the moon before it was hidden once again. It would be the full moon tomorrow. He sighed again and looked out into the darkened hall where the dementors lurked. He hoped the werewolves would be all right in their weakened condition.

He jumped as a dementor approached his cell and got up onto his feet. The dementor waved a rotting hand in front of the door and it slowly screeched to the side, allowing a masked deatheater to enter. Judging by the deatheater's bulky appearance, Harry guessed it was McNair. He grabbed Harry by the front of his robes and shoved him out into the hallway.

Bellatrix was there, watching gleefully as McNair grabbed Harry's arms behind him and forced a black band around both his wrists, that both blocked his magic and tied his hands together behind his back. Harry gave a silent thanks to Kali for her training, knowing that he could use a little wandless magic if he had to, gave him a little comfort. And as McNair pushed him forward, he could use all he could get.

A few werewolves watched as Harry was taken, but most had pushed themselves into a corner, where their eyes glittered in the flickering torch light due to their gold and yellow shades. Harry thought he might have heard Kassidy say his name, but he couldn't look back to see and he really didn't want to.

At the end of the hallway of cells, there was a large wooden door that looked fairly recently put in, as its hinges were free of rust unlike the others. McNair grabbed Harry's wrists to stop him, while Bellatrix went in front of them holding her wand out. She quickly made a pattern in the air, which Harry knew he would never remember, about an inch in front of the door. Like with headquarters, a loud series of clicks followed, and then the door swung open soundlessly.

The walked through hallway after hallway, the only sound Harry heard were the sounds of their footsteps on the hard stone floor. Like in the Hall of cells, torches were spread sparsely and only seemed to make the darkness more pronounced and the shadows flicker as if alive.

Harry was determinedly trying to clear his mind and prepare for Voldemort. He focused on the sounds around him, the pain of the bound around his wrist, and the sound of his own heartbeat. Then he focused onto the stone of the surrounding walls, making one of his own in his mind, that would stop Voldemort from finding out anything that could endanger his friends or the order.

It was an odd detached feeling when he finally finished. As if he was watching the scene though another person. That someone else was being led down a dark hall with their hands bound behind their back and he was just watching...

He nearly jumped when he realized they were in a completely different part of Azkaban. The halls were lighted with evenly spaced torches and a few moth eaten decaying tapestries were hung on the wall. And behind a stone archway stood a large open room with just one thing inside it. A single chair that was being occupied by a man with a flat snakelike face and gleaming red eyes that narrowed at the sight of Harry, Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort gave a thin-lipped smile and dismissed McNair with a wave of his long-fingered hand. Bellatrix prodded Harry in the back with her wand and forced him to walk toward the chair.

"Harry Potter. I do hope you are enjoying your stay here. Bella made sure you had all the comforts, Azkaban prison had to offer."

Harry remained silent and tried not to look directly into Voldemort's eyes while still watching him.

"What's this? No heroic statement? No threats? My, my, I do hope Azkaban hasn't broken your spirit already; it would ruin all the fun. Even your dear godfather lasted longer than you. What will Dumbledore say when he finds his golden boy Potter already broken after not but a week? And still you have nothing to say." Voldemort continued softy, watching Harry closely.

Harry felt fury rise up inside him and he had to fight to keep himself calm.

"_Crucio." _

The curse hit Harry completely off-guard and he fell to his knees, biting his lip and digging his nails into the flesh of his hand. He closed his eyes and lowered his head refusing to let the dark lord know he was in any pain. He was left gasping as the curse was finally lifted and looked up at the dark lord before spitting the blood out of his mouth from biting his lip.

"Now perhaps his tongue has been loosened." Voldemort said watching Harry intently smiling.

Harry muttered a curse and rose shakily to his knees, trying to ignore the shocks of pain that came from falling to the stone floor.

"Manners Harry," Voldemort said and raised his wand to cast the curse again. Harry had barely risen from the floor when he let himself drop again to avoid the curse. He felt it just miss his head, making his hair ripple as a loud 'Crack!' echoed in the empty room.

"Now that I have your attention, Potter." Voldemort said calmly resuming his seat and interlacing his fingers, his red eyes looking over them and boring into Harry's emerald ones, "We can have a little chat... tell me now, where does Dumbledore hide his little Order? And don't try saying you have no idea what I'm talking about because Wormtail, incompetent as he is, has indeed conformed you are part of Dumbledore's ragged bunch of miscreants."

"I'll never tell you anything." Harry spat at him, ignoring his previous plan and glaring fully into Voldemort's blood red eyes.

The dark lord smirked and leaned forward slightly, "Yes, Tiernan and Marrok said the same thing.... that is, until they discovered my methods of persuasion are quiet affective."

"Liar! They would never tell you anything!" Harry yelled, getting to his feet. He started to gather energy within himself, forming it into a ball and readying himself. What he wasn't expecting was the hit from behind by Bellatrix that made him see stars as he fell painfully to the stone floor.

"Always watch your back Potter, hasn't Moody taught you anything?" Voldemort laughed.

Harry bit his lip from crying out as scar sheared with pain at the sound of Voldemort's laughter.

"Speaking of lessons, My Lord, I believe Potter was in need of one in the art of torture while at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. I believe he is long over due." Bellatrix said from behind Harry.

Harry rested his forehead against the cool stone for a moment before Bellatrix dragged him painfully up onto his feet by his wrists.

"Then by all means, Bella, give our young hero a lesson." Voldemort said leaning back into the chair as Bellatrix pulled out her wand.

Harry concentraited as Bellatrix raised her wand and the minute she drew breath to speak, he lashed out with a whip of pure magic smacking the wand away and forcing the curse to ricochet off the walls disintegrating a tapestry.

"If that's your lesson," Harry said with a smirk, "Than it's a good thing I chose to skip it."

"I thought I told you to bind the boy's magic." Voldemort snarled at Bellatirx, red eyes flashing.

"Master, master his magic is bound, I don't know how he- Forgive me master." She quickly retrieved her wand and shoved it into Harry's back.

"So... he can use magic even if they are bound, interesting. You certainly have a bag of tricks up your sleeve don't you Potter, and a mult-animagus as well.... Remove his bind Bella."

"B-but Master-" Bellatrix sputtered.

"Now, Bella." Voldemort commanded his eyes narrowing.

Bellatrix released Harry from the black band. Harry stretched then rubbed his wrists gently, keeping an eye on Voldemort. '_What could he be planning?_'

Voldemort waved his hand and a black shape approached Harry slowly. "This is a Ubel. It's merely a Nighghast that has yet to mature. The Ubel are mindless creatures that kill anything that comes in their path until they have shed enough blood to morph into a adult. This particular Ubel, needs only one more death to become a full demon. However, as the adults are always more difficult to control, I've put a curse on the Ubel that prevents it from transforming. Of course that simply forces the creature to spill more blood in hope of transforming itself, so your death will be a rather painful slow one, it will make sure not to waste a single drop of your blood."

Harry stood grounded to the spot staring at the black figure in horror. It let out an unearthly shriek and at Voldemort's raised hand started forward. It stepped out into the light and Harry gasped at the giant creature without a face. He barely had enough time to jump back as a long tail shot out and dagger-like tip cut through the fabric of his shirt.

"Going to have to do better than that if you want to live." Voldemort commented sounding amused.

Harry glared at him, but regretted it as the Ubel hit him with a clawed fist, sending him flying toward the far wall and landing painfully on the hard stone floor and sliding to a stop.

Harry spat out the blood in his mouth and gently felt his lip, wincing where he found it split. He stood slowly as the creature started toward him again. With a slight _push _of his mind, he transformed into Kenani's wolf form and sprinted toward the Ubel. Dodging the creature's tail, Kenani attacked with his claws and teeth before being smacked away by long-fingered claw.

Harry shifted back breathing hard, looking up to see what damage he had caused. There were long deep slashes over its chest and one across its head. He grinned; one more transformation into his wolf form and it would be finished. The thought had just crossed his mind when Voldemort's high-pitched laugh began to echo off the walls. Harry didn't have to wonder why for long, as the cuts he had inflicted began to close.

The Ubel was healing itself.

It started toward him again and Harry had to throw himself to one side to avoid it, but once again, he couldn't avoid the tail as it came down on him like a spear giving him a deep gash in the shoulder as he rolled away.

Desperate, Harry transformed into his nuncamy form and attacked the Umbel's throat, twisting it until he heard a loud 'Crack!'.

He quickly dropped it and fell to the ground transforming back into his human form.

"I'm impressed Potter. But I'm afraid this is a victory short-lived. I took the liberty to smear poison on the Umbel's claws, tail, and skin. Now you'll die a slow painful death, all alone and friendless, huddled in your dead godfather's cell with only the shadows for company."

"YOU-" Harry gasped.

Then the world shifted and Harry found himself back in his cell on his back, left with only the white-hot pain spreading slowly throughout his body and strange visions of shadows coming out of the veil.

BOOM!

Was that the last beating of his heart?

CRASH!

What was going on?

Yells of pain, curses, and the voices of the caged werewolves all blurred together.

"Harry!"

_Moony?_

"Harry open your eyes."

Some one was shaking him. With a groan Harry opened his eyes and squinted up at the person grabbing his shoulders. The hall was full of flickering light and people were running around yelling.

"Harry!"

He focused up on the person and slowly... light brown hair with bits of gray scattered and concerned amber eyes boring into his own... they had come... the order was here... Moony was here...

"Moony...." Harry choked out.

"Can you stand?" He asked pulling Harry upright carefully supporting him.

Harry just nodded slightly as the world shifted once again.

"Come on, we've got to get you out and to a Healer." Remus seemed to be muttering to himself more than Harry, so he remained silent and concentrated on walking.

"Harry!"

Kassidy's voice broke through Harry's fog-like state. He turned to face the cell and quickly pulled open the slightly ajar door to her cell. Both Keane and Marrok were unconscious and Kassidy was sitting helpless between them.

Harry bent down and picked up Keane in his good arm, leaving Remus to place Marrok on a floating stretcher. They hurried toward the big wooden door that led outside, Kassidy griping onto Harry's sleeve the entire time.

Suddenly screams erupted from outside and a huge black figure blocked the doorway. Kassidy gasped and pushed closer to Harry as the Nightghast approached them, folding its wings to fit inside.

"This way," Remus said and hurried back down the corridor to where Harry had been taken to see Voldemort. The pelted passed burning tapestries and entered the empty room. They were almost out of the building when the figure of yet another Nightghast appeared out of the smoke.

Harry pressed Keane into Remus arms and lifted Kassidy onto the stretcher, and hurried toward the Nightghast before Remus could react and gave another mental _push _and transforming into his nuncamy form. He leapt onto the Nightghast, leaving the door open for Remus to get the others through

Harry cried out in pain as he was thrown off the nuncamy by his tail and slammed into the wall forced back into his human form. He looked up as the Nightghast approached him, claws raised, before the combination of smoke and poison made him pass out.

Hours later

Remus stared at the source of his best friends nightmares now being consumed by a wild flame, but felt no joy. The place Harry had been tortured was now little more but bricks and ash. Yet there was no smile on his face.

Harry had fought to let them escape and Remus had returned to help him, only to find the dead body of the Nightghast and a few pieces of cloth from Harry's torn shirt. Harry was nowhere to be found.

Remus' fingers clutched the fragments of cloth like a lifeline. He felt a presence behind him and turned to see Ashon and Tiernan standing behind him watching the flame grow.

He looked back down at his hand then looked up at the flaming building before saying, "I'll you find you Harry. I promise."

TBC......

A/n hehehehe I've been looking forward to this part for a while (evil grin) lots of reviews means faster updates!!!


	8. Enter The Hunters

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N sorry for the long wait, but I've been under a lot of stress with my best friend's mom in the hospital among other things, but she's ok so its all good now! My school is starting this Wednesday so updating may take a while, but I hope to update every week or two weeks. Reviews do motivate me though!!! Anyway hope you enjoy this new idea I had!!

* * *

**Enter the Hunters**

Voldemort stared into a glowing black crystal ball that floated at eyelevel above a white marble pedestal. His expression was nonchalant as he watched Azkaban go up in flames. So far his plan had been a compete success; Dumbledore's lackeys were so easy to manipulate to his will. The Potter boy's abduction was unexpected and Lord Voldemort wondered what intentions the captors had, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

He broke his gaze from the floating ball to look behind him where a figure stood waiting in the shadows. "Soon, soon you will face my foe, and destroy him... body _and _soul." The figure brushed long black hair out of his pale blue eyes and smirked at the dark lord.

It had taken quite an effort to bring his new _guest _here to his keep. Potter had inadvertently completed the process himself, by killing that Umbel and spilling its blood onto the runes painted onto the floor where they had fought.

_Yes.... Potter would beg for death before the end..._

* * *

Harry was consumed by flame....

Then covered in a sheet of ice....

He cried out in pain as the flame and frost smothered him...

Someone forced him up into a sitting position and a drink was poured down his throat...

The fire was banking and the ice was leaving him....

With a soft sigh Harry fell back and let the darkness take him.

* * *

Harry awoke to find himself alone in a large circular room with stonewalls. He was lying on a stiff, but not uncomfortable, bed that was pushed into one side of the room. Across from him was a large circular brazier full of unlit coals and behind it was a closed wooden wardrobe.

He sat up slowly, surprised when he didn't feel any pain. He could now see there was a wooden stand beside the wardrobe that looked like it was made for holding something. There was also a fairly large window beside the stand, from which sunlight was pouring in.

Pushing back the heavy woolen blankets, Harry shivered at the sudden cool of the room, realizing he only had a pair of thin white cotton pants on. He walked over to the wardrobe and pulled the wooden handle to reveal all his old clothes either hanging or folded neatly in the drawers. Grabbing some warmer clothes, Harry turned to see his trunk at the front of his bed.

Wondering where on earth he was, Harry got dressed and walked toward the window. Looking out he found he was up in a tower that was built at the top of a hill. Below him was a set of stone steps leading down to a flattened section of ground. The ground was divided into areas of flat stone where people were dueling physically or with magic. Beyond that was an arch and more stairs leading down to two more towers and a gate. A stone wall enclosed the entire.... what? Where was he?

Just then the door opened and Harry turned on his heel to meet the eyes of..... Jaegar. "You brought me here?" Harry asked his eyes widening in surprise.

Jaegar nodded calmly and stepped into the room toward him. "Welcome to Iceland, or more specifically, the Hunter's Keep, Potter."

"The Hunter's Keep? What is this place and why did you bring me here?" Harry asked backing up toward the wall, frowning.

Jaegar raised an eyebrow, "First of all you should be thanking me for saving your neck back at Azkaban. That Nightghaust would have killed you if the poison didn't first."

"It was you?" Harry asked surprised, "Why would you want to save me?"

Jaegar shrugged, "It doesn't suit my purpose for you to die so needlessly, which brings us to your second question. I want you to get training here, to defeat Voldemort. The Hunter's Keep is where the traditional arts of fighting are taught. You're wasting your time focusing on magic, safe inside your order's little hideaway. Here you'll learn to actually fight, if that little stick of yours is lost."

"I'm not helpless." Harry muttered angrily, "And you still haven't told me why you want to help me. How do you gain in all this? Why should I bother to stay?"

Jaegar gave a feral smile, "Because, little hellion, you are a long way from your little hideaway and from what I hear, Lord Voldemort has recently invited a _guest _to his castle; who you will not, under any circumstances, want to meet."

Harry said nothing, causing Jaegar to smirk, "Good not as thick headed as I thought. Now, the Keep is divided into orders, much like the houses at Hogwarts; the highest being Telekos, then Cigmas, then the Sorens, and finally the 'gifted' house, Isidro.

Most hunters start at Soren and move up to Telekos over a period of time, six years at a minimum usually. To move up an order, the hunter must earn each symbol in the order's crest. Soren only has two, but the others have three. The hunter must pass tests and win duels with the signature weapon of their order. Soren's is a staff, most often with a blade attached to the end, Cigmas' is a leather whip, and Telekos is a set of twin daggers that are personalized to the owner once the hunter passes the tests.

However, the order of Isidro is for those who have special gifts. The sign of the order Isidro is rarely shown, unlike the other orders. They are a group of Hunters that have special abilities that must be taught to control along with the regular training. Along with training for their gifts, they also take training from all three orders. At the moment there are only three members: Rekem, Frost, and my daughter Takara. You shall be the fourth."

Harry stared at him, "B-but I _can't_ stay here for _six years_! And I haven't got any special abilities-"

Jaegar held up his hand to stop Harry from continuing, "I sensed the power when I first saw you in Tiernan's castle. You know the power of the Trials of Forlorn Hope do you not? Innocence Lost? And there is something else...a metamorphamagus perhaps.... not a strong one mind... but there's enough power to at least change the features of your face.

As for your objection to staying here, you're right in thinking we don't have the time to fully train you. However, there is a way out for you, if you can survive it, that is. At the end of August to the beginning of September the Delaney Syn is held. It is a tournament that allows anyone who wishes to participate and skip ahead in his or her training. The tournament includes three large challenges, not unlike the Tri-wizard Tournament. The winner earns the order of Telekos with the daggers, the title of fully trained hunter, and I believe a medal is presented as well... Win the tournament and you win your freedom."

Harry sighed, there was no choice really. He knew he needed the training and that he wouldn't stand a chance trying to escape from a Keep full of hunters. Besides did owe his life to Jeagar, wearily he turned to him and said, "What do I need to do?"

Jaegar nodded, "The requirements for the tournament are fairly simple; you need backing from one of the elders, which I will provide as second in command of the Keep, and you will need dueling robes and suitable weapons toward the end of the tournament."

"What are the tasks?" Harry asked nervously.

"The first is a fight in pure darkness, the second is a maze where you will simply need to find your way out alive, and the final is a simple tournament with duels to the winner." Jaegar said calmly, "You will have two weeks to prepare for the first, and then there is a week before the second, and two weeks before the final task. You'll get more details as the date comes closer."

"Isn't it a bit soon? I haven't even started yet. Is two weeks enough?" Harry asked. He was sure he didn't like the way Jaegar grinned and said, "It'd better be if you want to survive."

"Now then," Jaegar said looking around the room, "This is where you'll sleep. You'll learn the Keep's layout quickly enough. There are four main towers on the top level where we are now." He gestured to the window, "Down those steps are the training grounds for fighting and below those are the Warden's and the Seer's towers."

"Who's the Warden?" Harry asked glancing out the window.

"The Warden is first in command here. Watch what you say to him, if he speaks to you at all. You better be prepared to fight here, if you piss someone off they won't hesitate to act on it."

Harry nodded, slightly proud of himself for not gulping audibly, "Then who's the Seer?"

Jaegar nodded toward the far tower from Harry's window, "She lives there alone. You'll meet her eventually; she asks to meet all the Isidros."

He turned and started out of the room, calling back, "Follow me."

Harry hurried forward and followed Jaegar down the stone steps of the tower, and through a door. There was more dueling going on outside, separated either into groups or pairs, people wearing similar uniforms practiced. In the center, where there was no fighting, was a crest engraved into the stone. It was a shield coming up to three points at the top with a Dagger in the center with a rose entwined around it and with a wand laying diagonally behind them.

He looked up and saw there were flags on the top of each tower; on his was a deep blue flag with a dagger printed on it. The dagger had an eye in the middle and three tears fell from it to the top of the word Telekos printed at the bottom. The tower to the right had a red flag with a shield with a rose printed on it and a star and moon in opposite corners of the shield with the word Cigmas. Farthest from Harry, was a green flag with a muggle pistol and a wand crossed with the words Soren printed under it. Finally the tower Harry faced had a plain white flag fluttering in the breeze at the top.

Harry followed Jaegar into the tower and into a large circular room, occupied by three people, who looked around Harry's age or a little older. They turned when Harry and Jaegar entered and Harry could see they were wearing similar outfits, yet of a different make of the people outside. They each gave a slight bow to Jaegar and were looking at Harry curiously.

Jaegar pointed to a girl with hair lighter than Malfoy's dressed all in blue, "That's Frost, an ice elemental." Frost bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Rekem, creator," A boy with black hair tied back by a red piece of cloth on his forehead and dressed in blood red and black smirked, "And Takara, speaker." Takara had Jeagar's dark hair, but her eyes were a light and honey-colored brown. Her clothes were light brown and tan and she bore no expression as she studied Harry.

"And you are?" Rekem asked raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Harry," was Harry's short reply, something about Rekem's expression put him on edge.

"And what is your skill?" Takara asked softly, still watching Harry.

"A metomorphomagus, a judge of the Forlorn Hope trials and the fourth member of Isidro." Jaegar answered for him, before Harry could open his mouth.

Frost, Rekem, and Takara all nodded and Jaegar turned without a word and left.

Rekem grabbed a long staff of wood and tossed it quickly at Harry, who caught it out of reflex. "You any good at dueling?" Rekem asked twirling his staff expertly.

Harry grinned slightly, "I'm not bad."

Frost gave him a small smile from behind Rekem and Harry saw her eyes were a pure sliver-blue color with no visible pupil. Just then, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and just managed to block Rekem's staff from hitting his staff. Though feeling slightly off balance, Harry managed to fend off Rekem's attacks.

Rekem stopped suddenly and nodded, "Not completely worthless."

Frost suddenly made a motion with her hand and Harry duck low to miss having his head cut off by a white blade. Something shattered behind him, and Harry turned to see the blade that had been thrown at him to be made of ice.

"Good reflexes." Frost said in a soft voice.

Takara frown and Harry readied himself for another attack. She straightened suddenly, and whipped her arm in a similar way Malfoy had when he tried to attack Harry with a snake in Harry's second year at the Dueling Club. A thick black cobra appeared and rose up, reveling a yellow stomach and hissed menacingly at Harry.

Harry grinned and, with a few choice words in Parseltongue, had the snake curled on his arm, perfectly content.

"Not worthless at all." Frost said happily as Takara's expression darkened.

A loud bell echoed suddenly and the others started to leave.

"What does that bell mean?" Harry asked Frost.

"Time to go back to your rooms and dinner's ready. We come back here at dawn."

"Thanks."

She smiled at him and hurried up the stairs.

"She never talked before." Rekem said behind Harry, who turned to face him, "It's strange to see her talking so normally."

Harry walked back to the tower, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

A/N Ok what did you think of the Keep? Of Harry's reactions? Did he give in too easily? More details of what they wear and eat will be in the next chappie. The name for the tournament name means Delaney- descendant of the challenger in Celtic and Syn- invoked during trials in Norse, as Icelanders have both ancestry with Celtic and Norse I combined names from both.

We'll hear from the Order and the others later! Harry's got his work cut out for him! Review please and tell me what you think!!!

Thanks to- DarkFelineHuntress-glad to have you back,

Rosepetal13-oh dear a lifeline? Thanks for your great reviews!,

TuxedoMac- poor Harry has no luck. I'm gad you like my new style of writing,

Lady Arwen of Rivendell- wow you have earned the gold medal in speed reading for my fic! Congrats!!

Hi- heheheheheeh

Athenakitty- no I'm afraid Voldie had a good day...


	9. Picking Up the Pieces

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N I know this chappie's short, but its just a filler, the next one we get back to Harry.I know it's been a bit of a slow start but from here on is more action and stuff till they all get to Hogwarts where they have to deal with N.E.W.T.S. so anyway it should speed up a bit.

I was really surprised no one could guess who the _guest_ was, but after this chappie I expect a lot of people to figure it out.

T_his Chapter Is Dedicated To Ckat44's Father, May He Rest In Peace_

* * *

Picking up the Pieces

Albus Dumbledore stared at the many letters on his desk. Not five minutes ago, his office had been full of owls; knocking things over and hooting impatiently, not a pleasant sight. One of the letters contained a damage report from Tiernan's castle; including casualties, injured, and the damage done to the castle itself.

Another letter was from the Ministry of Magic. There had been a disturbance in the Department of Mysteries and an alleged sighting of Voldemort's deatheaters. The things wizards were tampering with down there... and the thought of Voldemort getting his hands on anything, was enough to give Dumbledore chills. However, it was in the room where they had lost Sirius, to that cursed veil he had fallen through two years ago, that the deatheaters were spotted.

As far as Dumbledore was aware of, that room had not been in use since the art of necromancy had all but died out, with the thinning of bloodlines and the irrational fear of their kind in general. From what he had gathered through contacts at the Ministry, the deatheaters preformed a, at the moment, unidentified, spell on the veil and had then proceeded to take something with them.

The Unspeakables who worked at the Department were shocked that such a thing could be done without the help of a necromancer, and had examined the veil to the best of their capability but had found nothing out of the ordinary. Many of the Ministry members were panicked that Voldemort had a necromancer at his disposal and were, at this very moment, still searching for any existing bloodlines with _any_ relation to necromancy.

Dumbledore was slightly skeptic about the idea, it was possible of course, but the veil had been used at one point to help young necromancers, who at the time, were automatically drafted into the Ministry when they came of age and power, to home in their powers and make it easier for them to reach dead spirits, which means it would not be difficult for a weak necromancer or even a wizard or witch with necromancer blood to reach the spirits.

Shaking his head slightly, Dumbledore glanced at a pile of letters from Ashon. He had sent the werewolf, who demanded to leave despite his recent transformation, off gathering information on Voldemort's activities, as Severus had yet to be called since his last meeting with the dark lord.

He had discovered that Harry's kidnapping had nothing to do with Voldemort, yet the dark lord seemed to know where Harry was and who his true captives were. However, he could find no more information on Harry or what they had taken from the Department of Mysteries.

Dumbledore had also discovered the whereabouts of Jaegar since his disappearance. Apparently he had left to return to the Hunter's Keep in Iceland. He had never been to the Keep, but he had heard about and battled hunters belonging to the Keep.

The hunters were trained in both physical and magical defense and offense, including some muggle weapons. Once a hunter entered training at the Keep they stayed on the island until they had reached the highest rank of assassin.

It had been founded by a seer named Armes and a young man named Taro Aiwyn, whose entire village had been slaughtered when we was but a child. Taro had hidden beneath the floor boards of his house and had only left when the house was set on fire. He had run into the nearby forest and watched his only home go up in flame. Taro had spent the next week wondering the wilderness, surviving only due to his determination to become strong and never have to fear again.

How he met Armes is still a mystery, but it is known, that Taro went back to his old home and built upon its ashes a great Keep. And with this Keep, Taro made up for his lack of courage and strength by teaching others to defend themselves.

Today his methods were taught to keep tradition alive and many of the greatest duelers in the world were trained there at some point. It was rare that the Hunter's Keep would take someone of different origin, but if they possessed talent they were brought in. A new house had been formed over the years called Isidro, where special talents were nurtured.

Sighing Dumbledore looked at the pieces of blank parchment before him, along with his silver inkpot and red quill. He needed to write Arthur and inform the Ministry of Harry's absence, there was no real point in keeping it a secret as Voldemort knew, and Arthur would know how to word it to the Wizarding World, so not to cause uproar. He also needed to contact Ashon about speaking to Jaegar at some point...

The Order had not taken Harry's disappearance well, especially Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, Harry's best friends. Dumbledore rubbed his forehead; hopefully he would be able to give them, and Remus, some good news soon.

* * *

Remus stared at the parchment in front of him. It held the names of those taken to Azkaban. His amber eyes, now a weary dark burgundy from the full moon, not three nights ago, quickly found the last three names on the list. There was a green dash next to Kassidy, age 7, that represented she was in full health. Underneath Kassidy's name was Keane, age 7, with a blue dash as he was still recovering. The last name on the list hade a red question mark beside it, one of the four in total, that stood for missing or they had not been able to find the body or any remains. The mark lay next to Harry Potter's name.

Remus' list was just one of many. It was charmed to change with the master lists the teams of order members carried with them as they looked through the wreckage of Azkaban. Remus had made sure to check every couple of minutes, his eyes fixed on the last name, hoping they would find some lead to where he had gone.

Ron and Hermione had not taken it well. As far as Remus knew, Ron had not said more than two or three words since, well, after he had yelled and fumed at the order for not protecting Harry of course. Hermione was having nothing short of a breakdown, as was Ginny. It was unlikely that anyone at headquarters had not felt their sharp tempers.

Remus gave a small smile at the memory of Ashon backing away from a furious Hermione, keeping an eye on her wand, which she could now legally use.

The smile faded as quickly as it had come, his sire had been disappearing on and off throughout the day regardless of any injuries he had obtained from his transformation. Remus was vaguely aware that Ashon always seemed displeased when he returned, but did not inquire to where his sire was going.

Dumbledore insisted that the werewolves were all given a period of rest to recover from the full moon, and in some cases, Azkaban as well. Remus wasn't really sure what to do with himself, so in the end Arthur suggested that he teach Ron and Hermione to apparate, as no one else had the time. After they learned the basics, Arthur would take them to get their license at the ministry.

It was a good distraction for them, but Remus could see it was still in the back of their minds, as it was in his, Harry was still missing.


	10. Seer's Eye

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N wow it's been a while… hope you enjoy!

* * *

_The Seer's Eye_

Harry tugged the long sleeve shirt over his head and wrapped a thick woolen cloak around him. The shirt was a deep emerald green with the hunter's symbol embroidered over his heart in silver thread. The cloak was made of coarse, thick black wool with a simple metal clasp in the center.

His breakfast had been set out for him on a small tray, most likely by some type of house elf, earlier that morning. Too nervous to eat much, he just nibbled at a bit of toast before leaving his room. He made his way down the stairs and out into the courtyard. Outside, people were, once again, separated into groups and stretching and warming up for their continued training.

Harry walked past them and into the Isidro Tower, where Frost and Takara were already up and dressed. They glanced over at him when he entered; Frost smiled while Takara looked him over with a slight frown on her face. The awkward silence was broken shortly by Rekem's entrance.

Frost and Takara stood and followed Rekem out to the courtyard, Harry trailing behind slightly and looking around at the fighting hunters-in-training. The four of them walked down the steps and walked over to the farthest platform of flat stone.

Rekem hopped on and gestured for Harry to do the same. They stood facing each other for a moment before Rekem began to speak, "Each member of Isidro has a special ability." He began, "As you already know, Frost is an ice elemental and Takara is a 'speaker' or someone who can speak to animals. I am a creator, which means I can create objects and environment with just a thought. However, I can only create an environment in a fairly small area and I can't control anything out side it."

He clapped his hands together and said, "Now then, Jaegar said that you have the talents of the Forlorn Hope and a little metamorphamagus power. We'll set up some stuff for your more specific training later, but for now we will work on dueling. You already have an advantage by knowing all of our powers, so now you must defeat us in a duel. There are no set rules and you may use any magic or physical move you chose. The moment one of us is defeated, another will take his or her place so keep on your guard.

I will be your first opponent. Now BEGIN!"

Rekem raised his arms and a bright blue line raced around the raised platform, outlining it completely. He made a few arm movements and Harry felt the stone sift from under him before lifting into the air. The blocks separated and began to move freely, seemingly out of their own free will. Harry stared back towards Rekem and saw the previously solid platform was completely separated, the stones moving up and down, side to side, or some just spinning pointlessly where they floated.

Rekem's first attack caught Harry completely off guard as he sent one of the large stone squares flying towards him. Harry jumped quickly and managed to land on another square, the one he had just left reduced to a fine dust from the impact of the other.

"Keep up Potter!" Rekem shouted as he made a slight movement with his hand causing the stone square Harry was standing on to pitch him forward. Harry twisted in the air as he fell and sent a curse at the stone cube Rekem was standing on and clung onto the edge of another stationary hunk of stone.

"You'll have to do better than that Potter!" Rekem shouted as Harry crawled to stand on the block. He quickly looked around and picked a path stones going diagonally away from Rekem. If he could fire a curse at the right angle the other stones might block it from view until it was very close to Rekem.

He took a deep breath a jumped to the next block of stone and then another. He shifted his weight back and forth a bit, keeping low and managed to block a fair portion of his body by from view by a spinning block. An idea came to him suddenly and he placed his hand near the spinning block and gave a push with his magic. Harry jumped to another block as the spinning block went flying towards Rekem. Harry heard a crash and a loud curse and knew part of his plan had worked.

"Nice to see you aren't sleeping on me Potter! But you have to do better than that!" Rekem shouted searching for the black-haired-boy amidst the floating stones. He was impressed with the little trick Potter pulled, but, he smirked, Potter would have to do better than that.

Rekem jumped as he was suddenly flung forward from a hex thrown at his back. Harry took his place on the block and grinned at him. "How am I doing so far?" he asked.

Rekem stared at him for a moment before nodding and made a wide movement with his arms. Harry suddenly found himself back on the ground with all the stone blocks set firmly in the platform. "What- Ack!" A large spear made of ice slammed into the spot Harry had been standing seconds before. Heart beating franticly, Harry looked up into the pupil-less eyes of Frost, who was smiling at him.

He gulped as the floor of the platform was suddenly covered in ice. It only took one step for Harry to slip and fall backwards, banging his head against the hard ground. Seeing stars, Harry rolled to one side and took safety in the air with his phoenix from. He should have guessed hail would start falling. Dodging chunks of ice the size of his fist, Harry fled toward the ground and shifted into his human form before he hit the ice. Knowing he only had seconds he flung a wave of power toward Frost; only to have it blocked by a wall of ice rearing from the covered floor. Harry's feet slid the moment he hit the floor and he stayed on the ground for a moment, trying to think of something, when ice spears emerged from the ground all around him, like fangs. He ran, slipping and sliding on the ice, before trying his wolf form on the ice. The paws helped, but only slightly, as he found he possessed better balance but also great trouble stopping without sliding a few feet more than he meant to. He darted side to side as he ran to avoid the spears, heading towards Frost the entire time.

As he grew closer her aim became considerably better, so much so it made Harry wonder if she had merely been playing with him earlier. He winced as the sharp points cut his sides and the vulnerable intersections of the pads on his paws. She summoned another wall of ice in front of her as he reached jumping distance in his wolf form. Harry turned and braced his hind feet against a thick ice spear imbedded in the ice floor and hit Frost's midsection knocking her down.

Gripping her stomach in pain, Frost waved her hand causing the ice to recede and Harry limped towards the center of the platform to await his last challenge. He changed back into human form and winced at the amount of cuts on his hand and, from what he could feel, on his feet.

A growl interrupted Harry's pain pity party and he looked up into the golden eyes of a large lion. "Oh my-" the lion roared and charged.

Harry grabbed at his nundu form and attacked the lion from its side. The force of the blows from both animals as they fought were enough to crack human skulls, as Harry and the lion bit, scratched, and tore at each other. Jumping back and shifting back into human form, Harry grabbed at his magic supply and slammed it against the lion sending it flying across the platform.

Harry turned and ran at Takara who was waiting for him. They fought with fists instead of magic. Takara was more skilled than Harry was at hand to hand, a fact that became more obvious as their fight continued, but Harry being Harry, wouldn't back down despite the growing pain in his muscles and the sting of his wounds as sweat trickled down and ran over them.

Finally, Takara swept her leg under Harry to knock him down and Harry twisted and kicked out as he fell causing Takara to fall along with him. Harry didn't move for a moment after he hit the floor and he simply stared up at the sky marveling he could feel so tired and sore at once. With a sigh he got up and walked to the edge of the platform where the others were waiting. He sat on the edge of the platform allowing his legs to dangle as he looked up at them expectantly.

Rekem grinned at him, "Not bad, but you'll have to get better to win at the Delany Sin. But that's enough for now, the Seer has asked for you."

"The Seer?" Harry asked wanting nothing more than to curl up and go to sleep.

"She lives in that tower." Frost said pointing towards the far archway where Jaegar had shown him earlier.

Harry just nodded and let himself slide off the platform. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Harry winced as he felt every muscle in his back clench and unclench, as he slowly climbed the winding stone staircase. He had a large black bruise forming across his chest and on his legs from the morning's training and he was covered in scratches of various sizes.

Thin beams of sunlight illuminated small flecks of dust that was floating in the air, making them shine like glitter illuminating the creaking wooden stairs built into the stone tower. There were no candle or torch brackets and only the long thin square windows allowed light in.

Each step made Harry feel heavier as he climbed the long staircase and the knowledge that he would only be going back this way after meeting the seer did not cheer him up any. To distract himself a little, Harry wondered what the seer would want with him. Professor Trelawny hadn't him given much confidence in the art of Divination.

He gave a sigh of relief when a thick oak door appeared at the top of the stairs and climbed the last stairs to pull it open and step inside. The room was just as dark as the stairwell leading up to it and for a moment, Harry simply stood and waited for his eyes to adjust.

There was a sudden flare of light and the unlit ring of torches hanging on the wall, unseen in the dark, sprang into life revealing an old woman sitting at a small circular table in front of him. The woman was wearing what appeared to be a crown of leaves, flowers, and herbs with a crescent moon in the center pointing upwards. A long light purple cloak was draped around her, covering all but her face and hands; she was smiling at him, dark eyes crinkling like Hagrid's' did.

"Hello Harry Potter." She said in a soft tone, not sounding like the old woman she appeared to be.

Still a little shaken by her sudden appearance, Harry simply nodded his head in greeting and sat down on the chair the woman silently gestured toward.

The Seer sat down as well, on a chair similar to Harry's across a small circular table that had appeared between them.

"I assume you have recovered from your poisoning?" The Seer asked noting his discomfort.

Harry nodded but grimaced slightly saying, "Now all I have to worry about is not loosing limbs during training."

The Seer smiled again, "You will do well, your magic and will are strong." She sighed, "I only hope they are strong enough for the trials ahead."

She looked at Harry fully and he couldn't help but feel, as with Dumbledore, that she was looking deep inside him for something. "I have seen many things Mr. Potter. The end of the war is fast approaching and the odds are turned toward the Dark Lord. He has turned his enmityfrom Headmaster Dumbledore and yourself to the entire wizarding world. Should he break the bonds of the Breaden Tree he will release such demonic power the world has never seen. In time, he will lose control of them completely and will be nothing more than a puppet as the demons turn to devour the muggle world as well."

"But how can I stop it!" Harry burst out, "Nothing can harm the Nightghausts and-"

"Hush," The Seer said suddenly, her voice still soft but with a hardened tone to it, "You forget your birthright. You haven't even begun to tap into inherited powers."

"But Voldemort still has a shard of Heka and I don't know how to use the one in the temple…" Harry said softly remembering last year's events.

"The shard in Gryffindor temple is far too powerful for anyone to fully control, even its guardians." The Seer said in a dismissive tone, "But there are other secrets in that temple than you are aware of. When you are ready to leave this island, you are ready to take on the challenges there."

Harry sighed and hung his head for a moment before asking, "Is there hope for the light?"

The Seer looked off into the shadows for a long moment before saying slowly, "There is always a chance for change, the balance of life ensures this, but the actions of yourself and the actions you invoke in others will be strong enough to make your stand against Voldemort." She sighed sadly, "There is great pain in store for you, for you will be betrayed by the love you bear for another and thus endanger others around you."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a leather strip with a beautiful green stone tied in the middle, "This belonged to another young man who risked and gave everything to save his world. Alekos disappeared after sealing the Breaden Tree and this necklace was found hanging on one of the remains of the blessed chains he used. The stone is a Labradorite, or Merlin Stone, and I believe it will suit you perfectly."

She handed Harry the necklace and wished his well with his training. Harry opened his mouth to say goodbye when she, and everything else in the room, was gone.

Harry shook his head as he tied the necklace around his neck, he should be used to these things by now. And he didn't realize until he was crossing the courtyard, that he had felt no pain from the day's earlier training.

From her tower, the Seer watched the young man walk away with the burdens of the world on his shoulders.

A/N I'm sorry for the late update and I hope to update more regularly on this fic now but with this being the third part of the same fic I'm not really surprised I had writer's block. But hopefully I can keep writing this and I don't plan on abandoning it anytime.

For those who read Tattered Innocence, I've written a quarter or so of it now and will be posting sometime this week as I have off school half day Thursday and all day Friday.

Thanks so much to all those who reviewed and kept reading this fic! It really means a lot to me!

And to snifflers unite- hehehe oh you are close!

Laters! Dawn


	11. Knowledge Gained

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N Alright, wow I know it has been a while. I just want readers to know that I am not giving up on this story. I've already outline the next couple chapters and I'm planning on writing out some of the big parts to come to help speed things along. Thanks to all those who kept with this story, I hope you continue to enjoy it!

* * *

Knowledge Gained

The golden rays of the sun had just crept into the window when Harry's bright green eyes snapped open as if an alarm had sounded. He yawned and stretched before slipping out of bed and pulling his clothes on. It was only when he realized that his shirt was on backwards and he was trying to pull one of his old Hogwarts hats on his foot as a sock, did he fully wake up. He jumped slightly, as he pulled off his shirt, when he felt something bounce off his collar bone. Reminding himself that it was just the necklace the Seer had given him, he pulled the shirt on the correct way. He had gotten into the habit of wearing the necklace after the first few days of training had him falling asleep fully clothed on top of his bed covers.

It had taken some time for Harry to grow used to his rigorous schedule after keeping odd hours at Tiernan's castle and then a few sleepless nights in Azkaban. He was soon very grateful for what physical and magical training he had already possessed.

His mornings began with a grim-looking Takara who seemed to find pleasure in calling forth creatures so fast that Harry was out of breath within a few moments of practicing. Phoenix, nuncamy, wolf, phoenix, jaguar, wolf… Harry swore softly and gave another mental push to his human form to calm the agitated adder in front of him only to throw himself to once side to avoid the massive paw of a bear roaring in anger.

Trying to ignore the burning pain and the sense of wrongness that came with his nuncamy form, Harry curled slightly and gave a full out roar towards the bear.

"TAKARA!"

Harry gave a sigh of relief and gave another mental push back into his human form, as the bear disappeared and Takara turned to face an amused Rekem.

"Times up, Harry needs to do something other than play with your pets." He continued, nodding in greeting at Harry, who was too out of breath to do anything but nod in return.

Takara simply nodded and waved her hand dismissively, strolling off the platform. Rekem jumped up and soon took her place standing in front of Harry. Once Harry caught his breath and stretched a little he gave a small nod. Raising his hand, Rekem snapped his fingers and a bright blue line of light outlined the platform and everything went dark.

Expecting this, Harry closed his eyes for a moment letting them adjust to the complete darkness. Opening his eyes, he pulled up what Rekem had called his '_mage sight'_, allowing him to see areas that were affected by magic as well as magical auras; a skill he would need for the first task of the Delany Syn.

He blinked as he saw the entire floor outline in a deep red and looked up to see a figure outlined in what looked like red flames. He tensed and took a deep breath before taking a step forward towards Rekem. The large stone blocks shifted immediately, as they had every practice, some rose and fell in one continuous spot; some flew from side to side, while others still, simply spun pointlessly until Rekem commanded them to move.

Moving quickly, Harry kept as low as he could, jumping from one block to the next following the figure wreathed in red flame. He dodged a spinning block as it went careening towards him, and blinked quickly as his magic sight flickered slightly, and he was momentarily drowned in darkness.

Rekem took advantage of this and sent a large clump of blocks towards Harry at full speed. With a push of his magic, Harry returned to his mage sight and had only enough time to take one step back, to be blown back five feet from the impact of stone on stone, and grazed his shoulder against a spinning rock.

Cursing, Harry rose and once again took off after Rekem, this time shifting into his wolf form. Rekem yelled in surprise as a wolf tackled him to the ground, loosing his concentration and causing the platform to erupt with light. Shoving, a now human Harry, off of him, Rekem raised his arms and allowed the blocks to fall back into their places.

"You're getting much better," said a quiet voice next to Harry.

Harry jumped and looked into the pupil-less sliver-blue eyes of Frost. Vaguely reminded of Luna, he smiled at her and pushed himself up onto his feet.

"Aren't you training with Harry today?" Rekem asked as Frost made no move to jump onto the platform. Harry usually trained with all the members of Isidro first thing in the morning and then worked on his metamorphosing and more physical training in the afternoon.

Frost shook her head, "I'm showing Harry the library. Jaegar says he's progressed enough to take a break and that he has some things to look up."

Rekem looked down at Harry who shrugged and hopped off the platform. Frost smiled and handed Harry a sack with a small water container and sandwich. He took a swing of water as he followed Frost towards Telekos tower.

Unlike in the Isidro tower, the floors in the Telekos tower were a polished wood, slightly worn from years of use, and there was a staircase leading down into the earth. It was down these stairs that Frost led Harry. Torches lining the walls lit themselves as the two passed down deeper into the earth.

After a few moments of walking, they reached a large ornate wooden door with the words _Hunter's Library_ engraved into the wood. Frost touched the lock with her finger and, after a series of clicks, the door swung open. "You can stay here as long you like." Frost said abruptly, "Just shut the door when you're done. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Harry stared as Frost beamed at him, turned and walked away without another word. He stared for another moment, before walking slowly into the library.

The Hunter's Library took up many rooms. The first room was filled with catacombs holding thousands of ancient scrolls with little tabs of paper attached, explaining, with a spell that changed the language according to who was reading the scroll, what the scroll contained.

The second room, separated by another ornate wooden door, were great tomes of history, spells, enchantments, and countless other subjects. The names on the spines were cracked and the words faded but the books were still preserved by anti-ageing spells.

The final room was also covered in catacombs only these held little glass balls with some sort of magical mist ever swirling inside them. At the bottom of each wall were built-in shelves filled with pensives of varying quality. Each little glass ball had a memory of some important event from great battles to political events. Once the memory was viewed, the swirling mist would return to its original state inside the ball. Some of the memories dated back past the time of the Hogwarts founders.

Harry found himself simply wondering around for a long time, trying to imagine what Hermione would make of this place. To be honest with himself, Harry hadn't given much thought to his friends since he had arrived. He didn't even know if they knew where he was or if he was alright.

He shook his head slightly; right now he had to focus on getting _out_ of this place. With a sigh he reached up and pulled out a random scroll. The words on the scroll shifted around for a moment before it read _'The accounts of the Greek heroes: Percous, Theseus, and Alekos'_

The name 'Alekos' rang a bell in Harry's head. The seer had mentioned him… hadn't he been the one to seal the Breaden Tree all those centuries ago?

Taking the scroll toward one of the many tables scattered around the room, Harry unrolled if fully. He scanned the scroll quickly and found Alekos mentioned at the very last part.

'_Little is known about Alekos. He was the only son of the merchant Adapa, prophesied to seal in the greatest evils of the world. Barely past his eighteenth birthday, Alekos set out to fulfill his destiny. Gathering as many priest and priestesses as he could, he set them all to work blessing the largest tree in the land. With blessed chains and years of training under his belt, Alekos waited for the darkness. The demons were attracted to newly formed purity and set out to kill the youth, led by the seemingly indestructible Nightghasts. As the evil creatures approached, Alekos cast the binding spell using the elements in a pentagram. With the last of his energy, he waited until the demons had reached him and opened a portal into the tree. The tree erupted in pure magic, making it shine a pure white from root tip to the highest leaf, and it is said that Alekos smiled as he used his very life force to seal the tree. The dark creatures were sucked into the tree, and the blessed chains formed a great golden band around it. But Alekos understood that all evil could not be trapped, and allowed the lesser demons to escape in small numbers. However, deep inside the tree near its core, lies the most deadly of creatures the Earth has ever known. _

_The location of the Breaden Tree, as it was later called, remained a mystery for many years. Rumors say that the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had discovered the tree, during their early years before they built their school, but no solid proof was ever found. It was said that Godric Gryffindor had found the tree and wanted to study it, but was put off by the negative responses of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. Rowena Ravenclaw was said to have wanted a chance to study the tree, but after many debates on the subject, Godric agreed with the other founders and refused to disclose the location._

_Alekos' remains were never found and the any records of him, along with the prophecy, were destroyed. However, a necklace worn by Alekos, a laborite stone, was said to have been found by the renowned Seer Armes.'_

Harry stared at the scroll for a moment, as if he hoped more information would appear. The scroll hadn't said anything about the Nightghasts, but that they were seemingly indestructible, which didn't help him at all. And if it had cost Alekos his life to seal the tree what would it take to reseal it or to stop if from breaking? And why would Slytherin be against studying the tree?

"Judging by your expression, I take it you haven't found what you were looking for yet?" Jaegar asked, appearing out of nowhere, causing Harry to jump.

Harry ran a hand through his hair sighing, "It mentions the Nightghasts, but it doesn't tell you how to kill them. And it tells you how the tree was sealed but not how to reseal it or prevent it from breaking."

Jaegar seemed unimpressed at Harry's findings, "Did you honestly think you could find what you were looking for the very first time you looked?"

"This isn't the first time! We've been looking almost all summer!" Harry burst out angrily.

Raising an eyebrow, Jaegar gestured around the room, "But you haven't looked here yet."

Harry looked at him sharply, "You don't know how-"

The Hunter rolled his eyes, "If I knew how to kill those beasts, they would all be dead and you wouldn't be here. What I am saying it that if there is a way to kill Nightghasts, it would be here, you will just have to look harder. But for now, it is time to eat and you must get some rest, the first part of the Delany Syn is only in a few days."

* * *

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Dumbledore had just finished an Order meeting at Hogwarts, leaving Tiernan, Remus, and himself sitting at a table in one Hogwarts' many rooms awaiting Ashon's return.

"Are you sure he's coming tonight, Albus?" Remus asked glancing at the clock atop the fireplace mantle.

"Oh ye of little faith…." Ashon called from the doorway, leaning against the frame, "We can't all be as punctual as you are Remus."

Remus said nothing and waited impatiently as Ashon took his time getting into his chair and propping it up on its back legs, grinning openly at the look Remus as giving him.

"Any sign of Potter?" Tiernan asked, not interested in watching the staring contest going on between the other two werewolves.

"Potter's fine." Ashon said indifferently, still watching Remus intently.

"And _where_ exactly is he?" Remus ground out, forcing himself not to rise as his sire wished him to. Ashon had been pushing his buttons on purpose ever since he had blown up at Snape when Harry was in Azkaban. The werewolf seemed determined to 'unleash his wolfish side'.

"Safe with the Hunters," Ashon said softly, before turning towards Dumbledore, "As far as I am aware, Harry will be staying with them for quite some time. He may be a little late for the school year, but if things go as planned he'll be back to torment his teachers within a few weeks after start of term, if not sooner."

"What plans?" Tiernan asked, glancing over at Remus who was staring at a spot on the table.

Ashon shrugged, "Oh this and that, Jaegar wasn't specific and I wasn't planning on snooping around a castle full of fully trained killers after what Greyback pulled last week."

Remus blinked and straightened in his chair, "Fenrir Greyback? He's acting as Voldemort's marshal for werewolves isn't he?"

Ashon nodded, "He's taken to this nasty habit of killing while in human form. Along with his insane fascination with turning children and setting them against the society where they were born, this new thirst for blood has put him even higher on Voldemort's 'good' list. The Dark Lord is even threatening to unleash him on the wizarding world's children."

Tiernan rubbed his face wearily, "I've had problems with him before, during the first war. Some of my people were agreeing with his belief that we werewolves should take revenge on the wizarding world for making us exiles. They believed they could have a better life with Voldemort in charge, allowing us to feed on human flesh."

Remus sighed, "I went to one of their camps before. Their living conditions are horrible and shun normal society to live on the margins, stealing and even killing just for food."

Dumbledore place the tips of his fingers together and looked over them at the other men, "The Ministry has been notified of Greyback's actions and I am sorry to say the Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror office, is not going to settle with just more passing of anit-werewolf legislature." He looked over at Tiernan, "We must brace ourselves for slander and accusations against us. Hopefully Arthur will be able to control high tempers at the Ministry, else I fear our alliance with both werewolves and vampires will come to question. The Ministry would fear a spy sneaking in and reporting back to Voldemort."

Tiernan laughed mirthlessly, "Of course, one lunatic happens to be a werewolf and gives everyone else of our kind a bad name."

"Greyback is easily the stuff of nightmares for wizarding parents," Remus said grimly, "A monster that comes out of the dark to kill or infect your children. I can't say I'm surprised Voldemort gets reactions out of threatening to unleash Greyback."

Ashon snorted, "Greyback is nothing but a senseless animal. He has allowed his animal side to overtake him so completely he is nothing than a brainless bloodthirsty beast, not even worthy of calling a werewolf."

"And you're so much better than he is?" Remus snapped suddenly.

"I don't run around biting children's throats out in or out of my wolf form." Ashon sneered.

"Yet you still managed to bite me as a child." Remus said rising.

"That's enough!" Dumbledore said loudly and looked at Remus and Ashon sternly, "This is something the two of you will have to work out on your own." Then his voice softened, "Harry will be safe at the Hunter's Keep, Remus. Jaegar will not let anything happen to him."

Remus sighed, "Forgive me for being rude, but the word of a Hunter gives me little peace of mind." He ran a hand through his graying locks, "If there isn't anything else, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore nodded, "That is all for now, I suggest that you all get some rest."

'_At least I know where you are, Harry.'_ Remus thought as he entered his room. He pulled off his shoes and cloak, and was fast asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

* * *

A/N Thank you to Lupinlover88- don't worry I do intend to finish this story and I do remember you asking about Kenani and I think I wrote back but knowing how well my email's working now, you probably didn't get it, I'm fine with you taking it! Thanks for your review it does mean something to me and sometimes I do need someone to get on my back and tell me to write! Lol

Tonks lupin- lol you named so many people and none of them are going to be the betrayer!

Albus- thanks for your review I will keep updating this fic and I will finish it! It just might take a while!

Hope you enjoyed, and the next chappie should be out before 3 months! Till next time! Dawn!


	12. First Task

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N Sorry for the long wait! Slight warning for the fight scene and slight gore in this chappie

Hopefully a new chappie up for x-mas break! If not happy holidays!

* * *

The First Task

Harry fingered the robes he would wear the following morning. They were thicker than his school robes, though they were also black, and with his mage sight he could also tell they had minor protection charms cast on them. Over the heart was the Hunter's seal in gold thread. A dark red cloak was attached at the shoulders but it was much shorter than what Harry was used to, stopping at the small of his back, for what Harry assumed was to ensure the wearer didn't trip over his own cloak.

Beside the robes, which he had found laying across his bed after his final day of training before the first task, was a leather belt with a thin strap of leather threaded through it which would expand to allow an object to be held there. The belt too had been charmed, though only with a non-tearing charm, so whatever the wearer placed between the straps would not fall free if hit by a curse.

Harry had been training hard these last few days, not only to learn skills that would allow him to win the tournament, but also to earn the right to carry a stronger weapon. The Hunter's Keep was not only the place to find fully trained hunters, assassins, and warriors, but also some of the best weapons. These weapons, however, unlike the ones commonly used for training, were only allowed to be used by those who have enough power to control them. The trainers were very careful to regulate who was allowed to carry what, as some of these weapons, in the wrong or unskilled hand could destroy entire cities if not more. An elder would have to be present at the time of the "test" and would give the final decision.

Harry had managed to earn Enno, a long black blade dagger with a golden handle, the twin short daggers Ata and Atsu, and the long silver and black sword Zeva. The daggers Ata and Atsu and the sword Zeva were of average quality, but Enno was a powerful weapon.

Knowing that he would have to have at least one powerful weapon, Harry had set his sights on Enno. It was an ancient sword, first made by the Egyptians, and been used in battle many times over the centuries, becoming more powerful as it took a new master.

The elders of Hunter's keep inspected all the weapons by hand on the first full moon of each spring and when a weapon reaches a certain amount of power it became an "anointed weapon" and it is then placed at a higher level than the training weapons. To wield it, the hunter must first demonstrate he or she can control its great power.

When Rekem had taken him to view the anointed weapons, nothing had called to Harry an Enno did, its black blade gleaming in the sunlight pouring from the open door. Enno had not had an owner for 200 years and Rekem had been skeptical of Harry's choice. But as Harry first held the blade, he felt a tingling sensation and a tug as his magic pulled towards the blade, making it an extension of himself.

Harry and Rekem took the blade outside into a circular clearing where the "test" would take place. Jaegar was sitting on a large rock nearby the entrance reading something and barely raised his head to see who it was, before turning back to his reading. Rekem gestured to a small gathering of trees directly in front of Harry and stepped back out of his way, "Aim that way so if it does work you don't break anything." Harry remained still for a moment confused, and then felt a warm in his fingers as he had when he had chosen his wand. Harry brought the dagger straight down, letting the tip just touch the ground and with a loud crack several of the trees were spilt straight in half and a long crater was formed from the tip of the blade to the trunks of the first trees.

"Well, I take that as a yes, right Jaegar?" Rekem said cheerfully, as if he had been expecting something of this nature to happen.

Jaegar merely grunted, not looking up from his paper, "Take it."

Rekem tossed him a scabbard and Enno had been belted on his side ever since.

Despite the hours of training Harry had endured, he still felt he was unprepared. He had once asked Rekem what the first task was going to be like. It had been after dinner when they had climbed the roof of the stables, which were near of the entrance of the keep's main walls, "Will I just have to duel a bunch of hunters in the dark?"

Rekem frowned slightly, and leaned back to look up at the darkening sky, "To be honest, that sounds far too easy," He said after a moment, "From what I've picked up about the last tournaments, some hunters are said to have run out of the stadium screamin' their heads off. I don't think a duel would do that…."

Harry turned and looked back up at the sky, the star Sirius was twinkling brightly, "But Jaegar said it would just be a fight in total darkness. What would make the Hunters scream so?"

"Jaegar said the fight would be in darkness, but he never said what you would be fighting. He can be annoying like that. All the elders can."

"Have you lived here your whole life, Rekem?" Harry asked glancing over at his companion; the stars were reflected in Rekem's dark eyes.

"More or less, I wasn't born here, but this is where I have been living since I can remember. Frost is the only one who hasn't been here for at least ten years. It's not a bad place to grow up, after the first task we're allowed to take you around the island. We usually don't train all day."

Harry smiled, "It will be nice to leave the Keep for a while."

Rekem nodded, "Iceland is beautiful, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

'_I just have to make it through the first task, before I can go anywhere'_ Harry thought grimly. It was surprising that a place as large as the keep could seem suffocating, but after two weeks of being confined in its borders, he was more than ready to explore more of the island.

Harry woke early after a restless night and got dressed quickly. The tournament didn't start for a few hours yet, so after Harry ate what he could through the ever-growing knot in his stomach, he found himself wandering around the outer wall of the Keep occasionally watching some of the groups already up and moving.

"Nervous?" A voice asked into Harry's ear, causing him to jump to the side, his hand automatically reaching for his sword Zeva, strapped across his back.

Harry scowled at Jaegar and dropped his hand back to his side, while Jaegar chuckled, "A few more weeks and I won't be able to sneak up on you at all."

'_Great'_ Harry thought, '_so in a few weeks, I'll be as paranoid as Moody.'_

Jaegar smirked, "So Potter, are you ready for your first task?"

As much as Harry wanted to say yes as defiantly as he possibly could, the knot in his stomach doubled so he merely shrugged and turned back towards the group he had been watching.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jaegar said dryly, "and if my assumptions are correct you had better get to Tower Sorens, they'll be starting soon."

Harry said nothing but turned on his heel and quickly walked towards the tower, leaving Jaegar's soft mocking laughter in his wake.

* * *

Harry joined the small, but ever-growing crowd at the base of Tower Sorens and glanced over his competition. The competitors each wore the same robes Harry did and each stood the same way, their left hand clasping their right hand behind their backs with their eyes trained on the large wooden door to Tower Sorens that remained closed. Most of the men and women had visible scars and looked much older and more experienced than Harry. Mimicking those standing beside him, Harry stared intently at the door, eyes following the scars marring the wood. He jumped slightly as the door suddenly flew open, up heaving a thin layer of dust, revealing the tower where the darkness seemed to be a solid mass filling the space.

Jaegar stepped in front of the doors for a moment, blocking their way, "The first task will begin now. No magic is to be used during this task, weapons and skills taught in the Keep only. Those who pass this task will need only to report to a healer if necessary or return to their rooms. They will be informed of matters regarding the second task at a later date… I wish you all luck. We fight for the glory of the hunt and the honor of the Keep!" He called raising his hand to the cheers of the crowd.

He walked off slowly, his eyes meeting Harry's as he passed a slight smirk on his face.

"Come and face the darkness… Hunter Taro." A deep voice called from the void.

A man with two diagonal scars across one dark eye straightened his shoulders and walked up into the Soren Tower. The darkness overtook his form immediately and silence fell over the crowd as everyone strained to hear anything of the battle going on. The silence seemed to last for an eternity, before the same voice called out, "Hunter Taro faced his darkness and passes the first task… Hunter Jeka come face your darkness…"

Taro did not return, but was said to have returned to his room with minor injuries by new-comers joining the crowd. There was a brief applause for Taro before all attention turned to the next hunter. This went on for hours, the silence broken only the specter's voice and the screams of the competitors. Those who failed returned limping or carried on stretchers, Harry tried not to look at the deep flesh wounds that marred their bodies and the horrors that could have cause them.

The sun was high overhead before the voice called, "Hunter Harry come face your darkness…"

Harry forced himself forward, feeling the eyes of the spectators boring into his back as he stepped through the blackness. For a while Harry simply walked forward, unable to see anything. Experimentally he brought his hand up to his face and was shocked to find he could not see it even when his palm was touching his nose.

"_Well don't just stand there idiot" _Harry thought suddenly feeling very vulnerable standing in the middle of a hallway of some sort. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he slipped into his mage sight and looked around. In this view the darkness was alive with color and Harry could make out vague shapes of tapestries and rugs lining a long hallway that seemed to branch out toward the end.

Loosing Zeva from the scabbard on his back, Harry slowly approached the end of the hallway. The walls fell away sharply and Harry walked into an almost cavernous room. The magic here was different; symbols in bright blue light lined the walls and the ceiling. Feeling a slight push, Harry walked into the center of the room and had to close his mage sight to the sudden wave of magic all around him.

Suddenly something was in the room with him. He could feel its presence as if it was standing right next to him. Slowly the magic changed again, the darkness suddenly became more solid pulling away from the floors, ceiling, and walls allowing the blue light from the symbols light the room dimly.

To his right was something Harry had never seen before. It appeared to be alive but it held no real shape, instead it was more of a black blob, ever moving with streaks of what appeared to look like blood covering it like stripes. Rope-like tentacles whipped out suddenly and Harry fell off to the side to avoid them. The blob pulled itself upright using these tentacles and slowly began to form a shape. Bat-like wings burst from the back of the creature and a whip-like tail ending at a deadly point curled behind the creature. The faceless head of the nightghaust rose to look at Harry who remained frozen in shock on the floor.

Before Harry could think, the tail had coiled back and slammed into him, throwing him across the room into the wall. Spitting out a mouth full of blood, Harry pulled out Zeva and sliced off the point of the tail as it wound back to strike again. He watched as the tail fell and wiggled on the floor like a fish out of water, glad to be free of that danger. A nightghaust! How could they have gotten a Nightghaust? And for him?

Harry froze suddenly as the tail fell still, and then flew back to the Nightghaust reattached and deadly. How was this possible?

Returning Zeva to its scabbard, Harry reached for his twin daggers. The Nightghaust spread its wings to attack and Harry flung Ata and Atsu with a burst of power and pinned each wing to the wall.

An unearthly laugh filled the room and the Nightghaust wrenched free of both daggers, leaving them embedded in the wall. Harry made a move to grab Enno, his last defense, but the Nightghaust was too fast for him. It leapt towards him and pinned him against the far wall, its sharp claws digging into Harry's skin.

Harry gasped in pain and looked straight into the faceless head. Instead of the inky black skin he saw pictures. He saw his friends dieing by his hands, saw himself taking the dark mark and becoming Voldemort's heir, he saw himself slaughtering the innocent with a smile on his face.

Anger filled Harry and he could feel a burning sensation rushing through his veins, his eyes turned to ice and with a burst of uncontrolled power he threw off the Nightghaust. He pulled out Zeva, allowing whatever was happening to take over, and stabbed the Nightghaust through the abdomen, pinning him to the floor. Raising Enno high, he stabbed into the Nightghaust's head, through the image of himself bowing to the Dark Lord.

Veins of gold flooded from the sword and covered the Nightghaust's body. Light began to shine through these veins and the Nightghaust burst into pieces quickly eaten up by the light. Harry fell back covering his eyes at the light and felt the power that had consumed him fade back.

Harry jumped at the voice announced, "Hunter Harry faced his darkness and passes the first task… Hunter Naro come face the darkness"

Trembling and covered with blood, Harry pulled his weapons from the stone walls and floor. A new door had opened opposite the first and Harry walked towards it, finding himself in a short hallway before being encased in sunlight. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust before slowly making his way forward, realizing Jaegar was watching him.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Jaegar asked leaning against the doorway as Harry slowly trudged toward him.

"Not at all." Harry managed, before the world shifted and he fell into peaceful blackness.

* * *

Jaegar shook his head, that kid needed to learn how to control that magic of his if he was going to get anywhere.

"He didn't do that bad for the little training he had." Rekem commented from his position on the ledge of a wall, positioned so he could watch those going in and those coming out easily.

Takara merely grunted from her spot across from her father, while Frost smiled and said, "I like him."

Jaegar signaled to the waiting Healers and watched as the quickly treated his wounds and lifted him onto a stretcher. One task down…

* * *

Thanks to all who reviewed and waited so patiently! Please review and Happy holidays!

Special thanks to JJ- I really appreciated this review, I'm glad I have come such a long way from the beginning and as this series was my first fics ever I'm happy with what I'm getting out of them- you'll have to wait and see with Ginny though!

Dawn


	13. Great Changes

Flame of the Phoenix

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N yes I know it has been forever and no I am not giving up on this fic. I hate to leave things like this unfinished so I am determined to finish this fic before school starts for me. The chapters from now on won't be as long or as detailed as some of the others and the plot is going to move on much faster. I want all of my work to be of decent quality and I won't just dash out chapters without looking them over some. Thank you so much to those who have stuck by me with this fic and I hope you will continue to enjoy!

Dawn

* * *

Great Changes

Harry waited in the dark, as he had waited for the last three weeks. After the first challenge he had begun to get used to his new lifestyle. The second task had barely been a week ago and he had to admit that the likeness between the Hunter's maze and the Tri-wizard tournament had left him shaken and the nightmares of Cedric had resurfaced in earnest, the only difference being the flapping of Nightghausts' wings in the background with other nameless creatures that he had faced in the maze. But, somehow, he had made it through the second challenge and the first round of the third.

But something kept calling him back to this lonely spot up on a ridge a good mile or so from the Keep. Now that he was allowed to explore the island, he often found himself wandering with or without Frost, Rekem, and rarely Takara.

'_This is stupid'_ he thought as he continued to wait, '_I'm wasting my time sitting here…'_ But he couldn't leave… he thought he had seen… no he _knew_ he had seen Padfoot's paw prints… he just _knew _it… and he could have sworn that as he rose to leave a day ago, there was a rustling in the nearby shrubs when he called out.

'_Sirius is gone, admit it. You'll never make it out of here if you spend every night sitting out here in the cold.'_

Yet no matter how many times he told himself this, he could not find the strength to rise and walk away from a chance no matter how slight, to see his godfather.

Harry jumped to his feet, a reaction born of the training he had received, when there was a loud rustling and a hoarse voice said, "Harry?"

Harry felt a hard lump grow in his throat and he could feel every beat of his heart as his godfather, Sirius Black, looking exhausted and dirty, but otherwise he was just the way Harry remembered him last.

"S-Sirius! How did you… I thought you were gone!"

Sirius limped towards him and said, "I don't know what happened, I just found myself here and… what is going on?"

Harry made a small sound of joy and moved to embrace Sirius, but stopped short. There was something… wrong… Sirius looked just as if he had strolled out of the veil not moments before but there was something clinging to him… almost like a smell. Wrongness… the smell of something that did not belong.

Harry froze and Sirius looked at him in confusion, "What? What's wrong? What is it?"

Sirius made to reach out, but Harry moved back out of reach. Harry felt like lead weights had been piled onto his back and shoulders. His exhaustion, which had been building up during these long nights, hit him right at this moment. He looked into the eyes of his godfather and knew that the real Sirius Black was gone… that Voldemort had done the most loathsome thing his could think of, he created this… thing with his godfather's face and sent it to him, tantalized and tormented him it.

"You're not Sirius." Harry said quietly.

"Harry what are you-" the creature began in Sirius' voice.

"Stop it! What are you?" Harry yelled his voice a higher pitch than normal.

The fake Sirius smirked and now Harry could tell that this really was some horrid creature hiding behind his godfather's body. Sirius was dead. A swoop of hot anger rushed through him quickly turning into boiling rage.

The fake Sirius sighed, "I had hoped you would go along with this a little while longer, but I suppose the fun can't last forever. Very astute, I'm obviously not your precious _Black_, he is long gone."

"So what are you then?" Harry spat out, gripping one of his daggers.

The creature just smiled, "Now, now, I wouldn't be so hasty with those daggers if I were you. This _is_ your dear godfather's body after all. If you destroy his physical body, his soul would be trapped in this world forever, wandering aimlessly through the abyss of time, never knowing true peace again. But, from what I have been told about poor Sirius, I think he should be familiar with that feeling." The creature's grin widened to show pointed teeth.

"Liar!" Harry shouted, pulling out his dagger completely, "You don't have Sirius' soul! It passed on, I know it did!"

"But would you risk Sirius' eternal suffering on it?" The creature purred, before lunging at Harry.

Harry barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the creature whirled on another attack. Harry raised his dagger to defend himself, yet all he could see was Sirius. The creature was using some-kind of magic to make itself morph back into Sirius' weary face, Harry could tell that much.

He cried out in surprise when the creature managed to send a cutting hex across his side and flung the dagger at him leaving a cut on his right cheek. The fake-Sirius raised his hand to the wound and looked at Harry in disbelief, saying in Sirius' voice, "Harry? Harry, why are you attacking me? What's wrong with you, don't you recognize me?"

Harry began to hyperventilate and found himself unable to move as the creature pleaded with him to recognize him. He tried to block out of the voice that was begging him to save his soul.

He didn't even see the creature move.

There was a loud clang and the scrape of metal against metal just behind Harry's head. He was shoved to the ground as the creature and Jaegar locked swords, using each other's weight to move them, trying to get them off balance. Jaegar broke away and with a burst of white light, sent the creature cursing away into the lightening darkness.

It was almost dawn.

Harry just stared blankly at Jaegar as the man sheathed his sword and turned towards him. The hunter looked at Harry for a long moment before sighing, "It is time for you to go."

Something dimly registered in the back of his mind, "But I'm not done with my training yet."

Jaegar turned towards the rising sun and said in a quiet voice, "There is no more time left. You have progressed greatly in your time here and that was the main point." He turned back towards Harry, "You will be given the title of Hunter and be allowed use of any connections we have available. We always choose the first opponent of our tournament to determine this; the rest is merely for ceremony."

"Was that really Sirius?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Jaegar gave Harry a hard look, "Sirius' soul has passed, you said so yourself. That abomination is simply wearing his face. What Voldemort did is inexcusable, and monstrous. I can understand why you were unable to attack, but it does not make your inability to do so acceptable. You must look past his appearance to the demon he truly is."

Jaegar sighed, "Now that Voldemort knows he has one of your weaknesses, he will exploit it often and not just towards you. That is why you must go back now. You must destroy that creature before it hurts any others. Its blood is linked to you, only you can do this."

He handed Harry a leather bag and Harry could feel the metal of two daggers inside, "Your winnings," Jaegar said shortly, "and your belongings. I'm taking you to the gate now, we'll give you a portkey to the outer gates of Hogwarts, and they are expecting you. Recover and then finish this. Find the Breaden Tree and seal it before we are all consumed by it. Return to the temple, you'll find your way from there."

Harry found he could only nod.

He was going home.

Harry was in a fog as he said goodbye to the few Hunters who were already awake or who had risen to say goodbye. Before he knew it, he was handed a piece of paper and vaguely recognized Dumbledore's loopy handwriting before feeling the familiar tug behind his navel.

* * *

The grass on the very edge of the grounds near the Forbidden Forest was still damp from the morning's dew and Harry's shoes were soon soaked. A small group of people were waiting for him near the gates to the castle, but other than Hagrid's huge profile, Harry could not pick anyone out.

He suddenly realized that he was still shaking, must have had huge bags under his eyes, and could feel the scratchiness of his chin from not shaving. He murmured a few quick refreshing charms and left it at that, thinking at least he wouldn't frighten anyone from his appearance.

Remus met him halfway, with Tonks and Hagrid right behind him, and Harry was content to let them hug him, though he was sure a few ribs cracked from Hagrid's hold. He found himself going in and out of their chattering, occasionally nodding or smiling.

Remus was silently watching his charge closely and it was obvious that Harry needed a good sleep and meal before he did anything else. Harry seemed perfectly comfortable being incased by the small mob of people who had come out to great him, Minerva, Albus, and Mad-eye included, but Remus noticed the subtle way Harry glanced around the entrance, taking in everything quickly before moving inside with the others.

After a few comments to the others, Remus managed to get Harry away and back to his rooms. He hadn't even finished his suggestion that Harry get some sleep, before Harry had promptly lain down on the sofa and was out like a light. Shaking his head in sympathy, Remus transfigured the sofa into a bed and covered Harry up before leaving him to get some sleep.

Remus felt relaxed for the first time in months to see Harry safe. He had changed quite a bit in the time he had been gone and Remus had been concerned by both Harry's exhaustion and the look on his face before Remus had hugged him in greeting. While Jaegar had told them Harry was coming back early, he gave no reason why and told them to expect Harry to leave within the next week or so to work on something on his own.

Deciding to leave Harry in peace for now, Remus mentally made a note to tell Harry that he had meet all of Hogwarts' requirement for graduation and he could now take his NEWTS early if he so wished. Remus sighed, he knew Jaegar had been referring to Voldemort when he had said Harry would have to work on something else, as had Dumbledore. Albus had been the one to arrange that Harry graduate early so that-

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry needed to leave school early so he could figure out a way to stop the world from being destroyed by demons. Lovely.

With another sigh, Remus left his rooms to go to breakfast and tell Ron and Hermione that Harry had returned.

* * *

A/N hoped you like the chappie next one up in the next day or so! Dawn 


	14. The Beginning

Flame of the Phoenix

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N Thanks to all those who reviewed! I'd say there are about 4 more chapters left after this one. Hope you enjoy! Dawn

* * *

The Beginning

When Remus entered the Great Hall for dinner that evening, he was immediately drawn towards the large crowd surrounding the Gryffindor table. He smiled as he saw Harry eating in the middle of the throng, answering questions between mouthfuls. Harry grinned at Remus, who was relieved to find him looking much better than when he first arrived.

Harry was happy to be reunited with Ron and Hermione and content just to listen to them and his other housemates talk about what rumors they had heard and to ask him where he had been and what he had been doing. Jaegar had forbidden him from revealing very much information, so in the end Harry left his answers vague, though trying to keep as close to the truth as he could.

Dumbledore had requested, via Fawkes, that he meet him in his office after dinner. Harry had already told Ron and Hermione about this and invited them to come along so they could hear what was going on. He, himself, knew that he would not stay at Hogwarts much longer. Remus had told him that with all of his training, Harry had met the qualifications to take his NEWTS and graduate from Hogwarts and Harry wanted to get them done as soon as possible.

"You've changed a lot, Harry." Hermione said, as they made their way up the revolving staircase, "There's something else to this isn't there? Something you haven't told us."

Harry lowered his head. He hadn't told anyone about the demon wearing Sirius' face yet; he really didn't want to see Remus' reaction.

"Harry-" Ron began, "What-" He was cut off at the door to Dumbledore's office opened abruptly.

"Come in, we don't have much time." Professor McGonagall said grimly.

Jaegar was already there and judging by Remus' pale face, he had already told them everything.

"From what Jaegar has said we do not have time to discuss some matters in full." Dumbledore said slowly, "What is it you need Harry?"

"I have to go to the temple where the shard was." Harry said softly, "From there I'm going to find a way to seal the tree. Voldemort and," he glanced at Jaegar, "Others will have to wait. The tree is my first priority."

He glanced over at Ron and Hermione, who looked as if they were about to insist they come along, "I'm sorry you two, but I really have to do this on my own. Voldemort will no doubt use the tree as a distraction and send Death Eaters after Hogwarts while we are gone. I need you to organize the school in the event that I am not back in time to help. With everything we've been through, we know more about his castle than the deatheaters do. Use that to your advantage along with the marauders' map."

"I'm going with you Harry," Remus said softly, and Harry didn't argue.

Dumbledore nodded grimly when Harry finished speaking, "Very well. You know how to get to the temple?"

Harry nodded, then turned to Remus, "Remus I think it would be best if you get word to Tiernan about what is going on." He smiled slightly and added, "And Ashon too."

Remus raised an eyebrow at the mention of his sire, but nodded his agreement.

Turning back to the headmaster Harry asked, "Sir, I think it would be best if some of the vampires and werewolves were here to help guard the castle."

Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile, "Don't worry about Hogwarts, Harry. You have enough on your plate as it is. Hogwarts has many defenses and I will send word to the Ministry for Aurors. I think it best that you would take the fighters that Tiernan, Ashon, and Lady Kali suggests, if they do not go themselves."

He looked Harry in the eye and Harry could easily see the concern in them, "Harry I caution you not to act rashly and wait until you are ready, but you must keep in mind that every hour the seal grows weaker. If you wait too long it will break completely and no army will be able to stop the evil that is released. Take as few or as many people as you see fit, but chose them wisely or they could be lost to the darkness."

At Harry's final nod, Dumbledore leaned back into his chair, "Very well then. Take whatever it is you need. Do not worry about us; we will be waiting for you to return."

* * *

A few hours later

Harry shifted restlessly from one foot to the other as he waited just inside the gate to Hogwarts. The twin daggers Jaegar had given him from the Keep were now at his waist. The silver daggers came smoothly to a deadly point with a long lightning bolt, edged in gold running down the middle. Though simple in design, Harry could feel his magic extending out into the blades as if making an extension of himself. With the daggers on his sides along with Enno, Harry could relax slightly at the comforting weight he had grown used to.

He had said his goodbyes and was waiting, the locket that would transport them to the temple in hand (1), for Remus. To say he was surprised when he was waiting for one man and over twenty people, werewolf and vampire alike, showed up was an understatement.

"Hurry up Ashon! I'm surprised Harry hasn't left yet!" Tiernan yelled over his shoulder.

Ashon made no move to speed up his leisurely pace and said, "He hasn't left because he knows your mutts wouldn't get the job done without me babysitting them."

"Why you-!"

"Sometime today, gentlemen." Remus called, and the two werewolves turned to see that everyone but them was grouped around Harry waiting.

Once everyone was together Harry touched the shard within the necklace and they disappeared in a blur of colors.

* * *

They landed in a circular chamber of the temple that Harry vaguely remembered going through. He looked down at the necklace to see the arrow had moved and was pointing towards one of the corridors on the left. Trusting the necklace, Harry followed the arrow, barely listening to the occasional burst of argument from Tiernan and Ashon.

The talking that had begun quieted when Harry stopped abruptly. They were at a dead end. Hesitantly, Harry stepped forward and touched the wall. Green light erupted from the wall and outlined the hieroglyphics carved there.

Harry jumped backwards as the illumination of a woman stepped out of the wall. She stood there, her body made completely out of stone, before the color of flesh bled from the green light still outlining her body. With a burst of light, the green faded and Harry looked into the emerald eyes of the woman he had seen in visions many times before.

She smiled at him and stepped to one side of the hallway and gestured back from the wall where she had just come. The surface had changed from the smooth stone sides to a thick black suspended liquid.

"This is a gateway." The woman said softly, "It will take you to the Breaden tree where you must heal the broken seal. The magic that created the seal will be strong again when the seal is whole."

"How do we fix the seal?" Harry asked.

The woman smiled at him again, "We will help you. As guardian of the shard it is also your responsibility to watch over the balance of power. This temple holds all of the knowledge of the past guardians. With that knowledge, you will know what to do."

She looked over the small crowd of werewolves and vampires that were behind him, "I must ask each of you to do what you can to protect the guardian while he is sealing the Breaden Tree. To ensure his safety, is to ensure the safety of the world."

At their nods and soft agreements, she turned back to Harry and touched her finger to his forehead. A wave of heat followed the touch, and Harry saw flashes of people and places intermixing with each other. He closed his eyes and willed himself to relax and give into the confusion. When the heat finally faded and died, Harry opened his eyes again, eyes that were gleaming with an emerald fire.

Harry took a step forward and felt the liquid with his fingertips. The liquid was cold and thick, regaining its shape after Harry pulled back his hand.

He looked back at the others for a moment and softly said in a voice that was a mixture of many different voices, "Don't be afraid." Then stepped through the thick liquid to face what lay on the other side.

* * *

A/N I know that was short, but we are getting to the good part! Next chappie will be up tomorrow or the next day. Please review! Dawn

(1) See chapter 26 of Rebirth of the Phoenix when this was first used


	15. The Battles

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N This is it last chappie with an Epilogue afterwards!

The Battles

The air stank of death and decay, like a great miasma covering the great expanse of land. The Breaden Tree was unmistakable; it rose like a black mountain, the trunk easily as big as a house. The bark was scarred and darkened especially around a gold band fitted tightly around the tree which glowed in contrast to the dark wood. The band was imperfect; however, large cracks were easily seen with thick black liquid sluggishly oozing out.

The tree did bear fruit and leaves. The leaves were withered and brown, shaking with a loud rustling at the slightest breeze. The fruit was also withered; both black and red pomegranate-like fruit hung limply from its branches. Great gnarled roots rose and fell into the large open plane where even grass or the meanest bush could not grow.

Harry and the others stood on the edge of the great barren plane in silence. Harry could feel Alekos' necklace (1) grow warm as they slowly started towards the massive tree. He felt it fade as there was a gentle wave of assurance coming from the 'presence' inside him. He knew he could feel more than one of these presences within him, yet they acted as one and he felt connected with them.

Remus and the others had fanned out and made a circle with Harry in the middle to protect him. As they grew closer to the tree they could hear they screams of the monsters and even the scratch of claws trying to escape. So far they had encountered lesser demons including dementors and boggarts with banshees screaming over their heads. Yet Remus and the others managed to banish them all.

Harry had tried to raise his wand to assist, but found himself unable to move. With a wave of panic he clawed at his magic, only to be swept up in the wave of heat again. Soft voices calmed him and told him to save his strength. They said that he would need every drop of energy to seal the tree and not to waste it on such small threats.

Harry stopped suddenly in the middle of the great plane as the gentle heat from the necklace burned hot. Silently, Remus gestured the others to spread out further, giving Harry a four foot circle around him.

Harry closed his eyes and allowed the presence within him to take control again. He felt magic coursing through him and heard a loud roaring in his ears, when he opened his eyes.

A shudder went through the tree as Harry began to chant with the many voices of the past guardians. The creatures that had until this moment had come across them randomly began to charge towards them in greater numbers.

Harry was oblivious to the noise of the others protecting him, lost in the roaring and the vague clinking noise that was in the very back of his head. Curses went flying by him; some even brushing his hair, but Harry never moved or censed chanting.

As the number of creatures began to diminish a loud series of cracks broke through the battle. Those not fighting in the circle saw the white masks and even the serpentine face of Voldemort gave up a cry of warning. Tiernan snapped an order to four of the group to remain with Harry as the rest charged forward to meet the deatheaters head on.

Harry remained oblivious to the conflict around him as spells whizzed past his head and crashed into the shields the others kept around him. A great wind swept across the plane, stirring the leaves and lifting the branches of the Breaden Tree. Added to the sound was a soft 'clanking' as rusted chains began to move for the first time in years. The thick red rust that had incased the links disappeared as the 'clanking' grew louder and the wind stronger.

Raising his hands and Harry began to shout, "Hydor, Gaia, Idea, Helie, Aer!" A great pentagram flared into life in the middle of the golden band. The demons screamed in anger and hatred as white light began to engulf the tree. Harry felt more and more of his energy being pulled towards the tree and felt the first wave of fear hit him. He could die if he didn't stop this soon…

"Potter!"

Harry looked up in slight surprise to see Voldemort glaring at him near the base of the tree, a shard of Heka clasped in his hand.

"You arrogant child! You think you can seal the Breaden Tree with just a few tricks. The spell is going to drain you dry of every speck of magic you have in your measly body until there is nothing left. The spells have long since faded, it will not be enough, it is all for nothing!"

Harry gasped as the sudden heat ripped through him again and starred down at himself in shock as he was enveloped in a golden glow, the roaring in his ears growing louder and louder. A high pitched note began to ring and the shard was reacting to it! The shard began to glow, dimly at first, before it flared to life blinding Voldemort.

The others cried out and tried to shield their eyes as the light grew brighter and soon only Harry could see what was going on. The wind, which had been steadily growing stronger, rose up circling the tree like a cyclone. Voldemort screamed in pain and the glowing grew even brighter, making Harry shield his own eyes.

As suddenly as it began, the roaring and the heat left, causing Harry to collapse. He felt a gentle caress brush against him before the 'presence' was gone, leaving him on his knees. The glowing began to fade and Harry could just make out the black form of Voldemort lying crumpled at the base of the tree.

There was a great burst of wind as the cyclone vanished and Harry scrambled to his feet. The tree was no longer black but gray, the gold band around the trunk whole once again. The shard was now deeply imbedded into the heart of the pentagram and would keep the band from weakening again.

The others slowly rose as well and stared in shock at the transformation of the tree. The grey bark was smooth and unscathed, the leaves were no longer withered but so thin they were a transparent white, and the fruit had rounded into perfect spheres that had the barest tint of red to their also transparent color. Green shoots of grass had already begun to sprout at the base of the tree… where Voldemort no longer lay.

"Where is he!" Tiernan shouted looking franticly around.

"There!" Shouted Ashon, wand at the ready pointing towards the right were Voldemort stood, his left side of his chest bleeding heavily.

Red eyes found Harry's and Voldemort smirked, "You t-think you have won? The Breaden Tree is now useless true, but Hogwarts will be raised to the ground within the hour. You have not won anything."

There was a loud 'crack!' and Ashon's curse went through thin air.

Harry rose shakily to his feet as the others grouped around him. He fumbled in his robes for a moment before finding his mother's necklace and holding it out for the others to touch.

"Hogwarts." Harry said firmly and as he felt the familiar tug behind his navel, he hoped Ron and Hermione were all right.

They landed right in the middle of the grounds to everyone's surprise and fear. That meant the apperation wards had fallen. The grounds were a mess; the once smooth lawn was covered with stones from the walls of the castle and bodies of stunned or dead Deatheaters and turned brown from fire.

Remus surveyed the scene grimly and broke the silence, muttering, "The fighting is still going on."

It didn't take long to get into the Main Hall, the students and teachers had managed to keep most of the Deatheaters out of all but two parts of the castle. The small group split up to help where they could and Remus and Harry hurried up the stairs to find Dumbledore.

After a quick reunion with Ron and Hermione, Harry grabbed the rest of the students and told them the plan. They went and got each suit of armor, each ghost, and even the giant squid to help protect the castle. The portraits on the walls reported where the deatheaters were and when they were coming and Peeves was especially thrilled when Harry and the rest of the seventh years handed over all the pranks (almost all of them from Fred and George) and told him to have at it.

Harry took the Marauders' Map and used it to go back and forth between the separated groups to give them more supplies and news. It was when they had almost overcome the deatheaters when Harry was cornered on the third floor by ten deatheaters.

By now Harry was almost completely drained of magic and had suffered from a few minor injuries. When he was beginning to think he would have to make a run for it, he suddenly remembered something.

He reached for the door handle nearest to him and yelled, "Fluffy, FETCH!"

The three-headed dog bolted out of its confinements, all three heads barking and growling wildly sending the deatheaters running for cover as the huge dog chased them.

A sudden feeling of dread washed over him as his scar began to ache, quickly turning into a splitting headache. He hurried forward as the pain grew and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.

Dumbledore and Voldemort were in the middle of the Great Hall wands drawn and pointed at each other in ringing silence. Both were badly injured and breathing heavily.

Suddenly, Dumbledore collapsed. Harry rushed forward and stood over Dumbledore as more than a few students screamed. Ron and Hermione knelt beside Dumbledore.

Fury rose in Harry, his nails cut into his skin as he clenched his fist. Gold flames rose around Harry as he pulled out the twin daggers he had received from the Hunters. Once again the heat rose in Harry and he found himself welcoming it. The time had come.

"I judge your purity." Harry said with the voices of the past guardians echoing in his voice.

"You are cruel. You murder without purpose or for your own gain. You harm the innocent and twist them to serve your will. You would do anything to gain power. There is no love in you."

He paused for a moment and for the first time in a long time, Voldemort felt pure fear.

Harry met his gaze and said, "A decision has been made. Purity Lost. _Deflou Sanctimonia_!"

Voldemort screamed and tried to apparate, but Harry held him still. The flames rose around him before bursting around and consuming the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Harry fainted with Dumbledore's soft words, "Well done, my boy."

A/N hope you enjoyed! Please Review!

(1) See Seer's Eye Chapter 10


	16. Epilogue

Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N Last chappie! Thanks so much for those of you who stuck with this fic I am really happy with it, but it was just time for it to be done. Here we go!

Epilogue

In the time that passed between Voldemort's defeat and Harry Potter's graduation, many things changed. A treaty was signed between the werewolves, vampires, and wizards declaring themselves to be equal beings in gratitude for their assistance in the war. After the sealing of the Breaden Tree, the Nightghausts had all but disappeared and the remaining deatheaters were charged and sent to Azkaban prison.

Harry Potter received the Order of Merlin First Class, while still recovering in the hospital wing. A week after Voldemort's defeat, the entire hospital wing was overflowing with cards, candies, and flowers for the 'Chosen One' and Harry was allowed to return home with Remus if only to make room for the patients.

Despite the fact that Harry was of age, Remus Lupin officially adopted him a month after he left St. Mungos' with a clean bill of health. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to continue hunting dark wizards, despite numerous requests from the Ministry, and contented himself with assisting with the construction and running of several schools for werewolves with Remus for the next few years.

Hermione went into the Ministry a few years after graduating and eventually became the youngest Mistress of Magic in over a hundred years. Ron got more confidence at Quidditch and eventually led the Cannons to their first victory in years, asking Hermione to marry him after they won their final game. Harry was the best man at their wedding.

Life was still far from perfect; the transition of the werewolves and vampires from beasts to equals brought an uproar from many of the wizarding community, most of which was silenced out of shock when Draco Malfoy married a gorgeous vampire named Cornelia.

Much remained the same as Hogwarts Gryffindors still hated Slytherin and the Sorting Hat's song welcomed each new generation.

Harry had many more adventures with the werewolves and vampires. He was a regular visitor at Hogwarts and would occasionally stay for a week or longer to give a lecture or teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class when Remus needed a break. Eventually, Remus retired and Harry stayed on as a teacher for a year until Dumbledore was able to find a replacement.

Every now and then he would return to the Hunter's Keep and get his butt kicked by Takara who was planning to take over the Keep as Warden when the new Warden, Jaegar, retired.

Though Harry had enough money to last him the rest of his life, he tried different jobs including being an Auror. He eventually became the official moderator of relations between the werewolves, vampires, and wizarding communities after the last four were killed and/or eaten.

He and Remus remained close and he was also the best man at Remus' and Tonks' wedding. After a few more years Harry had a family of his own and never felt anymore pain from his lightning bolt scar.

A/N Until next time folks! Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak! Dawn


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